David Orentlicher - Poverty Is a Public Health Problem

The “medicalization” model of poverty leads us to devote considerable resources to treating the healthcare problems caused by poverty while neglecting the root cause of those problems — the poverty itself. Treating symptoms rather than causes is far less effective than treating causes. When correctly understood, poverty is a major public health problem that needs to be addressed directly with effective anti-poverty programs. Only then can we properly serve the healthcare needs of the poor. For Dr. David Orentlicher’s full discussion of poverty and health, see his forthcoming article, “Healthcare, Health, and Income.”