Mitchell Katz : What the US health care system assumes about you

Mitchell Katz·TEDMED 2018
What the US health care system assumes about you
Summary
There are many challenges low- income patients face. They work even on Sunday to pay the rent, don't have enough money to use Uber, don't have friends to call doctors, and sometimes can't use English. Health care is built on a middle-class model thus it doesn't meet the needs of low-income patients. And then, by everyone hoping economic development,  it becomes difficult to close the disparity in health care. 

The speaker is Mitchell Katz who is the CEO of the largest public health care system in the US which is working on those.

It's the health care system, though, the important thing is not that you are a doctor. The needs of low-income patients are to listen to their languages, to explain their diagnoses verbally because some people can't read papers, even speak. They need inexpensive cell phones to call doctors. Sending letters many times, giving a steady supply of food, enabling to use refrigerator, bathroom and a bed where they can sleep without worrying about violence while they are resting, and so on, those are what low-income and homeless patients need. The right prescription for a homeless patient is housing, only providing them with health insurance is not working well. It must reduce costs more than they go to doctors after being a serious illness and they can be helped without noticing, some of the patients die.

This is what the US health care system assumes.