health care

Human Rights
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Brazil’s healthcare strategy has reduced racial inequality, study says

Brazil’s efforts to expand access to primary health care has led to dramatic reductions in health inequalities between racial groups, a new study contends. Brazil’s free primary healthcare system was launched in the 1990s with an emphasis on improving access to poor parts of the country. Black and pardo (mixed-race) populations in particular saw enormous increases in health care coverage, according to government statistics.

Basics
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What Jason Chaffetz gets wrong and the Pope gets right about poverty

Poverty is back in the headlines thanks to a pair of public figures. The comments illustrate divergent views, and only one is correct. “Americans have choices. And they’ve got to make a choice,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told CNN. “So maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest that in health care. They’ve got to make those decisions themselves.”

Global Health
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South Korean life spans race past 90 years, while the U.S. falls behind

South Korean women could be the first to live longer than 90 years thanks to a healthy lifestyle and equitable health care. According to a new study published last week, life spans should increase in all 35 of the high-income countries examined if business continues as usual. Sadly, gains are “notably low” in the U.S. – the only country in the study without universal health care.

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