LWVMA is pleased to announce the next program, in the Democracy in Everyday Life Series: “The Link Between Democracy and Access to Healthcare.”

The focus – of this conversation is the intersection of our democracy and our access to healthcare in Massachusetts. The conversation addresses how the Commonwealth is/should be “Improving access to health care by removing geographic, linguistic and cultural barriers,” a LWVMA position. Our experienced panel looks at health innovation, justice, equity, affordability, comprehensive, and quality care.

Panelists

Dr. Elizabeth Barnett is Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Medical Center.  She is the former director of the Refugee Health Assessment Program at Boston Medical Center.  Her clinical and research interests include immigrant and refugee medicine, travel medicine and parasitic infections, vaccines and vaccine safety, and general pediatric infectious diseases. She is an Associate Editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book), a Medical Editor of Health Information for International Travel (Yellow Book), and, with Patricia Walker, the editor of the textbook Immigrant Medicine.

Suzanne Curry is currently the Director of Policy Initiatives at HCFA. Since joining Health Care For All in 2006, Suzanne has taken on many roles, ranging from administrative support to policy and coalition management. As the Director of Policy Initiatives, she is a key member of the policy team and fosters connections among different areas of the organization’s work. Suzanne works on various policy issues including children’s health, mental health, delivery system reform and public and private health insurance coverage and access issues. Prior to working at HCFA, Suzanne was a union organizer and an administrative coordinator at health care institutions. Suzanne has a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from Boston University.

Dr. Paul Hattis is a physician-attorney, has joined the Lown Institute as a Senior Fellow, after retiring recently from his role as Senior Associate Director of the MPH Program at Tufts University Medical School and a member of the faculty in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine.   

With a strong interest in state health care policy, Dr. Hattis currently co-hosts, with colleague John McDonough of the Harvard School of Public Health, “Health or Consequences” a podcast focused on Massachusetts public health and health care policy issues under the sponsorship of Commonwealth Magazine. Dr. Hattis also currently is an active opinion writer for Commonwealth, writing on a variety of state health care and higher ed policy topics. Read more.