In the past several years there has been an effort to develop a Code of Ethics for APHA as well as renewed and vigorous interest in single payer unversal health care coverage. However, what kind of an example have we set in our own workplaces, particularly those that are governmental or nonprofit, of assuring that all our co-workers receive health insurance and other basic benefits? Twenty to twenty-five years ago almost everyone working in public health and health care received benefits, but that is no longer the case. Health care facilities and organizations were among the first to provide smokefree workplaces. We set the example. We need to do the same by ensuring that all our co-workers receive health insurance and basic benefits. Perhaps we have not even noticed as we slid down a slippery slope. This presentation will look at the history and causes of this problem and raise the ethical issues of how we value and respect the dignity of all work and of all workers and their families. The objective is simply to propose a different way of looking at these issues; to initiate dialogue, discussion, debate, and thought; to ask difficult and different questions. Then perhaps we can start to provide some solutions and answers.
Learning Objectives: 1.)Articulate the history of universal coverage initiatives; 2.)Understand the privatization and commercialization of public health and health care; 3.)Discuss and debate the ethics of their own workplaces
Keywords: Ethics, Universal Coverage
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.