A vision of hope for US domestic and international health policy

Abstract

‘The time has come – this year, in this new Administration – to modernize our health care system for the twenty-first century; to reduce costs for families and businesses; and to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every American.’ Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States, 11 December 2008 ‘It's time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology.’ Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States, 20 December 2008 With the election of a youthful, inspirational and first-ever African American to the Presidency of the United States, voters in this robust democracy asserted a collective intention to change the way government responds to their needs. These changes signal the end of an incompetent administration that presided over an unwinnable war; permitted ill-advised economic policies that led to recession; allowed environmental policies that ignored global warming; supported foreign policies that alienated US friends and foes alike; fought against science policies that could stimulate innovation; blurred the boundaries of state and church with ‘faith-based initiatives’; and failed to reform a healthcare system that left us with 47 million uninsured and an unmanaged health budget. With the January inauguration, Americans recaptured a moral compass for their governance. This compass is even more important given the concurrent, horrendous global economic downturn. Even with the economic crisis and war in Iraq, health reform was on the minds of US voters last November, and it is now squarely on the agenda of the new administration. This article frames a few of the issues germane to the health and science agenda for this administration, and it will summarize some of the major recommendations now being made to President Obama. With a large sigh of relief from the scientific community, …