In their new book, “Today’s Health Care Issues: Democrats and Republicans,” Robert B. Hackey and Todd M. Olszewski, both experts in health policy at Providence College, explain partisan viewpoints on a range of national health care policy issues.
The authors, who worked with more than a dozen Providence College students to address almost 20 issues, clarify Democrat and Republican perspectives while not taking sides themselves.
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PBN: What sparked this collaboration? What effect are you hoping the book will have?
HACKEY: I was approached by Kevin Hillstrom, an editor at ABC-CLIO, in the spring of 2018 about contributing a volume on health care policy to a new reference series. Since the press wanted a volume that would span nearly 20 different health policy issues, I knew I couldn’t tackle such an expansive project on my own. I invited my good friend and colleague Todd Olszewski, who previously collaborated with me on evaluating health care reform in New Hampshire for the ACA Implementation Research Network, to co-author the volume with me.
Since this was an ambitious project with a tight timeline, we recruited more than a dozen current Providence College students to join us as co-authors for various chapters. Our students were exceptional colleagues who became our eyes and ears as we grappled with each policy issue.
We hope to improve the knowledge and “policy literacy” of the public about contested health policy issues, from debates about the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces and individual mandate to public health issues such as COVID-19, immigrant health and vaccine mandates. We don’t take sides or endorse particular policy viewpoints, but rather highlight how each party frames debate over these issues.
The ultimate goal of our book, and the series itself, is to improve the way we talk about contested issues by helping readers – regardless of their partisan views – to better understand both party positions on contested issues and the origins of these beliefs.
PBN: What is the target readership for the book?
HACKEY: The principal audience for books in this series are intended for patrons of high school, public, and college and university libraries. We present each topic in an accessible manner for lay readers, but each chapter also has a strong evidence-based [component] that draws upon peer-reviewed sources, public opinion polls, and public statements by policymakers and key stakeholders that will be of interest to academics and policymakers.
PBN: Is there a general time frame the book adheres to?
OLSZEWSKI: While each chapter documents several decades of political debate on a particular health policy topic, the primary focus is on the past two to three years of that debate.
In short, the goal of the book is to examine partisan rhetoric and policymaking in the present day: to capture what politicians and policymakers are doing and saying, right now, and to place those actions in historical context.
PBN: After taking such a deep dive into Republican and Democratic views on a wide range of health policy issues, what is the takeaway? Does it seem like political parties are truly working for the best interest of the public?
OLSZEWSKI: The two political parties are animated by different values and operate in ways that they believe are in the best interest of the public. Decades of opinion polls also demonstrate that public trust in government has fallen. If anything, I’d say that the takeaway of the book is a simple question: what’s next?
As bipartisanship becomes less common in today’s polarized political climate, will the government occupy a more central role when addressing perceived shortcomings of our health care system, or will the private sector occupy that position? And what role will the courts play in expanding or restricting health rights, particularly as the U.S. Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade?
PBN: Based on your research, what impact has the politicizing of health policy issues had on public health in the United States?
OLSZEWSKI: The COVID-19 pandemic best embodies the impact that the politicization of health policy issues has had on public health in the United States. Democrats and Republicans have disagreed at almost every juncture during the pandemic: about its severity, its origins, and even its name, along with policies ranging from stay-at-home orders to mask mandates and vaccine mandates. With 700,000 Americans dead from COVID-19 as of October 2021, one’s political identity continues to define how you perceive the pandemic and conduct your life during the pandemic.
Democrats and Republicans strongly disagree over the role of government in regulating health care decisions and behaviors. While Republicans deem mask and vaccine mandates to be violations of individual liberty, Democrats encourage them as collective civic responsibilities.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
