(LOB= Legislative Office Building)

Due to the coronavirus and emergency precautions taken by the Connecticut General Assembly, the Legislative Office Building & Capitol are closed until April 13th. This means that all events (including public hearings and committee meetings) are cancelled during this period and all legislators and staff are working remotely from home.

As the emergency response evolves, the state legislature’s plans are likely to evolve as well. Be sure to follow us on social media to get the most up to date information about the legislative session and what we are doing to make sure health equity is the top priority in Connecticut.

This month, the Health Equity Solutions Book Club discussed The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting us Less by Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor.

As the Health Equity Solutions team is working remotely, this book allowed us to collectively reflect and discuss what is currently happening on a national scale as well as in our state due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the increased disparities it brings. The book provided a framework for team members to discuss how spending on health care in the United States is almost double compared to other industrialized nations, and yet Americans suffer poorer outcomes. The authors criticize that the idea that Americans’ poor health is linked to poverty, as that hypothesis fails to explain why people of color experience dramatically worse health and mortality outcomes overall.

The book walked team members through the history explaining why our systems of social services and health care rarely overlap. The authors conclude that one solution is to design a holistic, effective system, in which there is a delivery of health and not just health care. This would require addressing variety of factors, such as social, environmental, and behavioral causes of poor health.

Reading this book allowed our team to collectively reflect on our perspectives on the United States health care system in its current state. The book will inform our discussions about how to ensure that health equity is at the forefront as we consider how to move health systems reform forward and consider the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Want to help us read more? See our desired list of reading material HERE

If not executed with an equity lens  the response to the COVID-19  pandemic will exacerbate health disparities in our state. We wrote to Governor Lamont suggesting policies to address health equity as we engage in necessary social distancing efforts.

Now and in the weeks ahead, we will collect information from our partners about needs in their communities related to the emergency response. If you or your organization are seeing unmet needs, have a plan to address health equity, or want to share an unanticipated result of the COVID-19 response, please be in touch with our Director of Policy at ksiegel@hesct.org or 860.937.6437. We are compiling both problems and proposed solutions to share with policymakers on a regular basis.