Help Us Stay Paywall-Free

We rely on readers to keep our website open to all. Help sustain a public space for collective reasoning and imagination—make a tax-deductible donation today.

January 11, 2020

Beyond Health Insurance

There’s more that’s wrong with our medical system...

2020 is going to be a make or break year for health care. While the majority of candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination back private insurance, the front-runners are pushing for some version of single-payer, signaling that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grasp hold of Medicare for All.

But insurance aside, what are some of the other problems with the current medical system in the U.S.? From the limits of personalized medicine to the racism inherent in medical school curricula, and from the dangerous relationship between academics and Big Pharma to the complications that come with diagnosing someone as “at risk,” today we are diving into our recent archive to give you a range of essays that offer different answers to that question.

Robert A. Aronowitz
In place of the hype over personalized medicine, we need a more sober evaluation of the meaning of health and health care.
Anne Fausto-Sterling

Black people get sicker because of stereotypes taught in medical schools.

Adam Gaffney

Atul Gawande helped popularize the idea that health care spending is high because we use too much medicine. He was wrong: it’s the prices, and who pays them.

Marcia Angell

Relationships between academic institutions and biotechnology companies create conflicts of interest that undermine the goals of academic medicine and harm the public.

Jonathan M. Metzl
State policies shaped by white supremacy increase mortality rates in much the same way as other manmade health risks, such as pollution.
Christopher J. Phillips
It is no longer necessary to feel ill in order to be ill.

Our weekly themed Reading Lists compile the best of Boston Review’s archive. Sign up for our newsletters to get them straight to your inbox before they appear online.

Boston Review is nonprofit and reader funded.

We believe in the power of collective reasoning and imagination to create a more just world. That’s why we’re committed to keeping our website free and open to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. But we can’t do it without the financial support of our readers.

Help sustain a public space for collective reasoning and imagination, without ads or paywalls:

Become a supporting reader today.

Get Our Newsletter

Sign up to get vital reading on politics, literature, and more sent straight to your inbox.

Most Recent

Lewis Gordon and Nathalie Etoke discuss the space for freedom opened up by Black existentialist thought.

Nathalie Etoke, Lewis Gordon

The post-work movement reckons with reproductive labor.

Rachel Fraser

Melvin Rogers and Neil Roberts discuss the difficulty of keeping faith in a foundationally anti-Black republic.

Melvin Rogers, Neil Roberts

Just in time for the holidays, get any three print issues of Boston Review for just $35 – that’s 40% off the cover price!

Before December 9, mix and match any three issues for one low price using code 3FOR35.

Just in time for the holidays, get any three print issues of Boston Review for just $35 – that’s 40% off the cover price!

Before December 9, mix and match any three issues for one low price using code 3FOR35.

We can't publish without your support.

For nearly 50 years, Boston Review has been a home for collective reasoning and imagination on behalf of a more just world.

But our future is never guaranteed. As a small, independent nonprofit, we have no endowment or single funder. We rely on contributions from readers like you to sustain our work.

If you appreciate what we publish and want to help ensure a future for the great writing and constructive debate that appears in our pages, please make a tax-deductible donation today.

"An indispensable pillar of the public sphere."

That’s what sociologist Alondra Nelson says of Boston Review. Independent and nonprofit, we believe in the power of collective reasoning and imagination to create a more just world.

That’s why there are no paywalls on our website, but we can’t do it without the support of our readers. Please make a tax-deductible donation to help us create a more inclusive and egalitarian public sphere—open to everyone, regardless of ability to pay.