The Roosevelt Institution
The Challenge: Improve health for people domestically and abroad
Important
Progressive: accomplishing this challenge will contribute directly and specifically to the progressive values embodied by Roosevelt's Statement of PrinciplesMeaningful: our contribution to this challenge will produce a real change in the lives of our fellow human beings. One can imagine a world in which the challenge is solved, and such a world is better than the one we live in today.
Relevant: the challenge is relevant to the social contract project that Roosevelt has embarked upon
This challenge allows students interested in both health care policy and public health domestically and abroad to submit ideas.
The United States has a dysfunctional health care system. In the United States, about 40 million people are uninsured at any given time, yet we spend significantly more on health care than any other industrialized nation. Nearly all of them have universal coverage in one form or another. In terms of public health, there are concerns about influenza and other diseases that can more easily come to the United States in a globalizing world with many international flights. The recent TB scare is one example of possible public health dangers.
Internationally, people in developing nations need vaccines and medicines. Polio should be eradicated, and the spread of AIDS must be slowed down and eventually stopped. Drinking water and sanitation also help immensely, and the United States can provide a role to help these nations develop into more healthy states. International collaboration is also needed to coordinate action if a dangerous virus such as ebola were to become prevalent again.
Feasible
Approachable: given the level of research and discourse already available and given who else is working on the issue, college students with a range of experience levels and with varied types of expertise can contribute meaningfully to the debate and are likely to think of good ideas. We don't want something so technical only engineering majors can contribute to it, or something that is already dominated by another think tank or advocacy organization.Practical: the challenge is stated as a specific, measurable, and achievable goal, incremental progress toward which could be made by chipping away at the problem at various levels of government. The statement is not too broad or too narrow. One good way to make sure something is a good policy challenge rather than a debate or advocacy problem is to think of what sorts of innovative ideas might be produced for the 25 ideas publication series on that topic.
The topics require some knowledge, but especially the research from the Summer Research College will provide enough background for students to propose creative and meaningful solutions.
Great area to focus on, but I also know that for this year's "Working Families" we got a few health policy pieces. We may want to consider using this new year to explore completely new fields. At the same time, many of the Dem candidates have already stated health policy is one of their top priorities if they take the White House, so it may be a prime time for us to start focusing on policy proposals that are ready to deliver when health policy takes front stage in '08.
Wording could be improved, but overall an important challenge topic. There's been a lot of interest in international health, and I think that connecting this with domestic health care offers the possibility to do even more....
I think this is a really good challenge in the sense that it is pertinent and would impact a huge number of Americans as well as those beyond our boarders. It is a bit broad and by that I mean it may be a bit difficult to address all aspects including international and domestic. However after being on the Hill this summer, it is clear that health care inform is a key policy topic these days and I think Roosevelt would have a lot to contribute.