Major Health Law and Policy Positions Among 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates
Assuring the nation's health promises to be among the premier political objectives underlying the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. In 2018, we (and others) identified major public health threats emerging from the 2016 election of President Donald Trump (and Republican control in over half the s...
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Published in | The Journal of law, medicine & ethics Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 459 - 464 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Los Angeles, CA
SAGE Publications
01.09.2019
Cambridge University Press |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Assuring the nation's health promises to be among the premier political objectives underlying the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. In 2018, we (and others) identified major public health threats emerging from the 2016 election of President Donald Trump (and Republican control in over half the states).1 The short- and long-term public health repercussions from related shifts in national policies ranging from health care access to climate change are substantial. Now, a diverse field of over 20 leading Democratic-declared Presidential candidates (ages 37-77 years) are prioritizing health issues in their campaigns. Assessing candidates' positions since the inception of their campaigns, we have identified 10 primary health law and policy platforms as of June 1, 2019. Candidates' dominant themes center on universal health care, climate change, and reproductive rights. Many also address policies on mental health coverage, gun violence prevention, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) reforms.2 Just over half of candidates are opining on regulated substances (e.g., opioids, cannabis), health interests and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons, and lowering of prescription drug prices. As discussed below, the candidates' varying ideas on these issues deviate significantly from the current administration's policies and, at times, from each other's proposals. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1073-1105 1748-720X |
DOI: | 10.1177/1073110519876181 |