The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74466

Claudia Fegan, MD, Ambulatory and Community Health Network, Cook County Bureau of Health, 1026 East 48th Street, Chicago, IL 60615, (312) 572-1278, singlepayer@aol.com, Martha Livingston, PhD, Associate Professor of Health and Society, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Box 210, Old Westbury, New York, NY 11568, Maya Rockeymoore, PhD, Senior Resident Scholar on Health and Income Security, National Urban League, 1111 - 14th St., NW, Suite 1001, Washington, DC 20005, Walter Tsou, MD, MPH, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 325 East Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119-1219, and H. Jack Geiger, MD, Dept. of Community Health and Social Medicine, City University of New York Medical School, 138th Street and Covent Avenue, New York, NY 10031.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." The struggle for civil rights defined American politics in the 20th century; racial inequality continues today, and is reflected in disparities in health care and health outcomes. While eliminating health disparities is a national goal, it remains impossible to achieve without universal health care. Achieving a national health insurance system is a fundamental prerequisite to seriously addressing health disparities.

The struggle for civil rights provides important lessons to health activists who understand the inequality and discrimination inherent within our current "non-system". This session will bring together speakers active in both struggles who will share their insights on lessons learned from the civil rights struggle and why the current fight for national health insurance is the civil rights issue for the 21st century.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session the participants will be able to:
• Compare and contrast the struggle for civil rights in the mid-20th century with the current struggle for national health insurance in the 21st century.
• Describe the key barriers to creating a national health insurance system in America.
• Describe the advantages of a national health insurance system for minority populations.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.