Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Health care is not a top issue in 2024. Covid-19 explains why.

Blue donkey and red elephant facing off across a Covid particle
OsakaWayne Studios/Getty Images

Pearl, the author of “ChatGPT, MD,” teaches at both the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group.

In a striking departure from recent voting and polling trends, health care has tumbled to the 16th most important problem facing Americans today, according to new Gallup data.

At first glance, this shift is bewildering, especially considering the central role health care played in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles.


Americans now list the nation’s top problems as immigration (28 percent), the government (20 percent), the economy in general (12 percent), inflation (11 percent), poverty, hunger and homelessness (5 percent), unifying the country (4 percent), crime/violence (4 percent), and so on.

Contrary to what the Gallup poll might suggest, the importance of health care hasn’t diminished. In fact, the scenario is quite the reverse. Health care continues to be a pivotal issue, but its impact now permeates a broader array of societal concerns, redefining what constitutes a “health care issue.”

To grasp this shift, consider the unprecedented health crisis our nation has recently navigated. The Covid-19 pandemic didn’t just challenge our health care system. It reshaped our nation and exacerbated nearly all of its underlying issues. Even with a significant reduction in disease-related fatalities, the pandemic’s imprint on our everyday lives is unmistakably widespread and deep-rooted. Four years filled with upheaval and apprehension have blurred the traditional boundaries between health care and other areas of our lives, from the economy and social relations to our trust in government and other people.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Take, for example, the direct and tangible impact of Covid-19 on our nation’s economy, which is reflected in the concerns ranked third, fourth and fifth in the Gallup survey. The pandemic’s disruption of supply chains, along with the government’s substantial financial relief packages, contributed massively to inflation. Since then, measures taken by the Federal Reserve to tame higher prices have increased interest rates, housing costs and homelessness.

As a result, the cost of health care, which was once viewed as an isolated financial burden, has become intertwined with other economic pressures, including soaring rents, grocery bills and fuel prices. Health care isn’t unimportant. It has simply become another item on a growing list of unaffordable expenses.

The pandemic took a toll not only on our pocketbooks, but also on the nation’s mental health and societal cohesion, too. Forced isolation and the widespread fear of infection sowed seeds of loneliness and distrust, leaving lasting scars on our collective psyche. This period of upheaval intensified perceptions of “the other,” fueling xenophobia and deepening social divides (reflected in first- and ninth-ranked concerns — immigration and race relations, respectively).

Immigration fears, a striking symptom of these anxious times, signal a deeper societal malaise and mistrust that gained momentum during the pandemic. Our shrinking social circles made us wary of engaging with those outside our immediate networks, exacerbating feelings of division.

As economic uncertainties and safety concerns mounted, so too has apprehension about the implications of open borders. What initially emerged as a health precaution — self-isolation — has evolved into a more profound shift in social attitudes, fueling the instinct to safeguard ourselves and our loved ones by keeping strangers out.

The ongoing crisis atmosphere also deepened distrust in government leadership (the second biggest issue), which further widened societal divisions and has prompted a desire among many Americans to unify the country (the sixth concern on the Gallup list).

The government’s handling of the pandemic — marred by testing-kit shortages, inconsistent health advisories, and fluctuating policies on school closures and mask mandates — amplified doubts about elected leaders and eroded people’s trust in regulatory bodies. Coupled with congressional struggles to enact bipartisan legislation, these issues paint a picture of pervasive government failure. The inability of elected officials to protect people’s health currently blends with its failure to address countless other basic needs.

Taken together, the reordering of national concerns in the wake of Covid-19 doesn’t suggest health care’s diminished relevance. Instead, it reveals the extent to which the pandemic unraveled the social fabric and collective psyche of our nation.

The fact that voters now prioritize issues like immigration, government effectiveness and the economy over traditional health care topics doesn’t indicate that our country is content with the health care system. To the contrary, in separate polling, 73 percent of U.S. adults say the health care system fails to meet their needs.

The reality is that the United States can’t successfully address the problems spotlighted in the Gallup poll unless we overcome our health challenges — be they physical, mental or economic.

To effectively tackle our economic hurdles, it’s essential to curb rising health care costs, which already exceed $4 trillion annually and are projected to reach $7 trillion by 2031. We also can’t narrow the widening rifts in our society unless we prioritize the physical and mental well-being of our populace. And finally, the public’s trust in government will continue eroding until legislators confront the issue of lobbying. Since 2021, health care companies have spent $1.4 billion on campaign contributions and lobbying — more than any other industry — to influence policy decisions. It is clear these practices have undermined the credibility of elected officials.

The Covid-19 pandemic indelibly altered our lives, caused widespread fear and laid bare the vulnerabilities of American politics. Its enduring influence is evident today. Surveys like this capture the extensive and profoundly negative effects it has had on people’s perceptions and priorities.



Read More

America and the Magic Order of US

Lady Liberty

Provided by Sarah Beckerman

America and the Magic Order of US

Part I - The Ministry Denies It

Like many true elder millennials, I find comfort in escaping into fantasy worlds – Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars. But lately, these stories haven’t just been a break from the chaos of real life. They’ve become a lens for understanding it. They remind me what courage looks like when the odds are stacked, and what it means to stand up, not just to threats to justice, but to silence, complicity, and fear.

Lately, I’ve been thinking less about the final battles, the catharsis, the clarity, the triumphant arrival of friends. We’re not there yet. Not even close. What I keep returning to is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the part of the story where everything tightens. The danger is real. The protagonists are scattered. The institutions are eroding. And the air gets heavy with denial and dread.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nevada House Speaker Says It's Time to Give the State's Largest Voting Bloc Access to Primaries

Las Vegas, Nevada sign

Photo by Grant Cai on Unsplash.

Nevada House Speaker Says It's Time to Give the State's Largest Voting Bloc Access to Primaries

LAS VEGAS, NEV. - Nevada’s largest registered voting bloc – unaffiliated voters – could soon gain access to the state’s taxpayer-funded primaries, if a new bill from Democratic Nevada House Speaker Steve Yeager becomes law.

The bill, AB597, was introduced Monday with one week left in the session. It gives registered unaffiliated voters the option to submit an online request for a party's primary ballot no later than 14 days ahead of a primary or during in-person voting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eliminating HIV Prevention Is a Public Health Crisis

A vaccine bottle and syringe for an injection preventing HIV.

Getty Images, Kitsawet Saethao

Eliminating HIV Prevention Is a Public Health Crisis

The Trump administration is planning to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of HIV Prevention. The collapse of HIV prevention will mean 143,000 additional people in the United States will acquire HIV in the next five years. We are on the cusp of a public health crisis.

The most recent attack on the reproductive health center in Palm Springs is a wake-up call to what could be to come if we continue to be bystanders in the erasure of reproductive and sexual health rights. A profound crack in an already fragile public health infrastructure continues to grow as government officials consider eliminating vital public health structures that monitor health trends, outbreaks, and our ability to prepare and respond to an ongoing HIV epidemic.

Keep ReadingShow less
Congress Bill Spotlight: Preventing Presidential Inaugurations on MLK Day, Like Trump’s

Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States.

Getty Images, Pool

Congress Bill Spotlight: Preventing Presidential Inaugurations on MLK Day, Like Trump’s

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

President Donald Trump falsely claimed his January 6, 2021 speech preceding the Capitol Building riot “had more people” in attendance than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Keep ReadingShow less