This is episode 47,  “The U.S. Pandemic Response and How to Improve It.” 

My guest, James G. Kahn, MD, MPH, is Emeritus Professor in the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, the Institute for Global Health Sciences, and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. He has published widely on the cost and cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention and treatment in the developing world, as well as on other health conditions. 

Dr. Kahn researches and educates on the costs and financing of single payer / Medicare-for-All. In 2005, he quantified that U.S. health care administration costs funded through private insurance account for nearly 25% of the costs of physician and hospital care. In 2014, he led a team that estimated potential savings of at least $400 billion per year from simplifying insurance-related administration in the U.S. 

Dr. Kahn also served for two years as President of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Do not miss the episode as Dr. Kahn discusses our response to the pandemic and how we can improve our response in the future.