Jefferson Ketchel: Healthcare and Insurers, we need to talk…signed Public Health

A career public health professional, Jefferson Ketchel graduated from the M.A. in Policy Studies in 2008 and went on to serve as administrator for Grant County Health District and later, Snohomish Health District. Now, as the executive director for Washington State Public Health Association (WSPHA), Ketchel finds himself in the midst of a global pandemic and broken health system that is ill-coordinated, inefficiently allocated, and overall inequitable.

Ketchel’s commentary “Healthcare and Insurers, we need to talk…signed Public Health” recently appeared on State of Reform’s website. “Public health has gotten used to one-time funding amidst crises,” he writes. “However, it does not solve much and perpetuates the failed system that will once again not be properly prepared for the next event or address systemic injustices. This emphasizes that we are a Band-Aid society that prevents us from getting to the root of problems. Just imagine what could be done with sufficient health monitoring, disease investigation, coordination, and a focus on healthier communities.” Read Ketchel’s analysis.