"Educaid" – Dr. DeVoe's essay in Family Medicine journal

Education

jen-devoe-for-web-finalJen DeVoe, MD, D. Phil, Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, asks if health care should be more like the U.S. education system (DeVoe J. Educaid: What if the US Systems of Education and Health Care Were More Alike? Fam Med 2009). In the essay, Dr. DeVoe poses the question: What if access to an education in the United States required insurance, leaving millions of children without a school? Would public insurance for education – Educaid – look like public insurance for medical care – Medicaid?  

The essay describes a fictional education system analogous to our current health care system as a means to highlight some of U.S. health care's failings. It incorporates real comments from Oregon parents whom her research team interviewed during the summer of 2008 about their experiences gaining access to health care services for their children. Her purpose is to challenge the reader to consider the future for both the US education and health care systems, the urgent need for reform, and how major reforms might affect our children. (Text from the Family Medicine department's newsletter).

 


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