Field Robert I
Professor of law and professor of health management and policy at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law and the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
AMA J Ethics. 2021 Aug 1;23(8):E648-652. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2021.648.
American health care is rife with inequity in access to services. Even among people with insurance, inequity can result from insurers' decisions about which services to cover. These decisions are often based on economic models that are seemingly objective but neglect factors affecting people who are economically disadvantaged. Laws and government programs designed to mitigate inequities in access have limited value in addressing bias in models that inform coverage decisions. As a reform, government agencies that fund research could require that studies on which decision models are based better account for factors affecting people who are economically disadvantaged, an approach this article explores.
