Paul Farmer, “This I Believe.”

(Source: youtube.com)

There’s a misunderstanding that if you just go to the E.R., that’s healthcare. It’s not. … And I don’t think the public or politicians really understand that. I think the last health reform attempt which is being bandied about — we don’t know what’s going to happen — is likely to fall short with regards to equity.

— Dr. David Ansell on how the current payment system drives health care inequalities.

When you look at the reasons for it, at least half of this is [because of] heart disease and cancer and things that could be treated. One of the problems with our current system is segregating people by insurance status, which ends up limiting the options of care — especially when you get down to the specialty care that people need.

— Dr. David Ansell explains why, on the South Side of Chicago, the life expectancy of an African-American male is eight years lower than that of a Caucasian man. On today’s Fresh Air, Ansell talks about caring for and treating the poor and uninsured in Chicago’s Cook County Hospital.

Today: the story of American medical care as seen from the perspective of Dr. David Ansell, who treated the uninsured in Chicago for 17 years.

Source: CDC

Tomorrow: the story of American medical care as seen from the perspective of an inner city Chicago hospital, where most of the patients are uninsured.

Tomorrow: the story of American medical care as seen from the perspective of an inner city Chicago hospital. We speak with Dr. David Ansell, whose experiences treating patients at Chicago’s public Cook County Hospital make a strong case for national health care reform.

chicago — (by Melody Kramer)