Health is vital to the economy, productivity, and national security of the United States. From the beginning of our nation’s history, Presidents have played a significant role in steering a course of action for the health of the Nation. This involvement extends back to the time of our Founding Fathers when both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson recognized the importance of public health interventions. General George Washington protected his army from the scourge of smallpox (the threat of which he perceived to be potentially greater “than… the Sword of the Enemy”) by requiring then controversial smallpox inoculations for new recruits of the Continental Army. President Thomas Jefferson promoted vaccination throughout the country and even instructed Meriwether Lewis to bring immunizations on his pioneering westward journey to share with people in new settlements of America. Thus, since the founding of our country, Presidential leadership has played a key role in promoting the health of the United States.
Applying lessons from previous Presidents and Administrations, the Health and Medicine Program of the Center for the Study of the Presidency (CSP) applies historical perspectives to frame health care challenges and opportunities for the next President and Executive Branch of government to enhance public policymaking. The program examines such health issues as escalating health care costs, the nearly 47 million uninsured people living in the United States today, profound health disparities, an aging population with a concomitant chronic disease epidemic, the recent decline in funding for biomedical research, ethical issues arising with scientific discovery, the impact of globalization with the threat of bioterrorism and emerging diseases such as avian flu.
Health Agenda 2008 - A critical component of the Center for the Study of the Presidency’s Agenda 2008 initiative, the goal of this project is to ensure that health care issues are at the forefront of the 2008 Presidential debates and the next President’s national and global agenda. The Agenda 2008 Health and Medicine initiative aims to foster open, nonpartisan dialogue to address these and other challenges faced in the health care field today and to identify opportunities ahead for future Presidents and their Administrations for leadership on these issues. A major goal of the program is to generate new strategies and actions for the next President to accelerate progress in science and medicine to improve the health of people in the United States and worldwide.
U.S. Presidential Candidates' Health Care Plans: A Side-by-Side Comparison - UPDATED
U.S. Presidential Candidates' Health Care Plans: Scientific and Medical Research Proposals
U.S. Presidential Candidates' Health Care Plans 2008: HIV/AIDS Proposals-A Time for Leadership
Health and Bioethics Leadership
Historical Perspectives on Presidential Health Initiatives
For more information on the Center's Health and Medicine program, please contact Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, M.D., at 202-872-9800 or via e-mail.
