KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live from Austin, examining health equity

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Reviewed

KFF Health NewsSep 9 2024

The host

Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News' weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now in its third edition.

The term "health equity" means different things to different people. It's about access to medical care — but not only access to medical care. It's about race, ethnicity, and gender; income, wealth, and class; and even geography — but not only those things. And it's about how historical and institutional racism, manifested in things like over-policing and contaminated drinking water, can inflict health problems years and even generations later.

In a live taping on Sept. 6 at the Texas Tribune Festival, special guests Carol Alvarado, the Texas state Senate's Democratic leader, and Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, along with KFF Health News' Southern bureau chief Sabriya Rice and Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony, joined KFF Health News' chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss all that health equity encompasses and how current inequities can most effectively be addressed.

Anthony also previewed "Silence in Sikeston," a four-part podcast and documentary debuting this month exploring how a history of lynching and racism continues to negatively affect the health of one rural community in Missouri.

Panelists

Carol Alvarado Texas state senator (D-Houston)
Cara Anthony Midwest correspondent, KFF Health News
Ann Barnes President and CEO, Episcopal Health Foundation
Sabriya Rice Southern bureau chief, KFF Health News

Also mentioned on this week's podcast, from KFF Health News' "Systemic Sickness" project:

"A Teen's Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing," by Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam.
"Med Schools Face a New Obstacle in the Push To Train More Black Doctors," by Lauren Sausser.
"'I Feel Dismissed': People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them," by Chaseedaw Giles.
"As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills," by Melba Newsome.
"Black Hospitals Vanished in the U.S. Decades Ago. Some Communities Have Paid a Price," by Lauren Sausser.

Credits

Francis Ying Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman Editor

This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.