Events

On its way to build a more resilient city, able to respond efficiently to the adversities imposed by urbanization and climate change, Rio de Janeiro faces significant challenges related to its healthcare system.

When public catastrophes occur, such as landslides, or an epidemic, such as dengue fever or Ebola, primary care is decisive. Beyond epidemics, Rio and big cities around the world are facing health care burdens stemming from climate change, aging populations, chronic diseases, and accessibility.

How cities can tackle these problems, innovate, and reform their health care system at the grassroots level? In our workshop, Community Resilience and Public Health Practices, three experts will discuss policies and practices implemented in Brazil and in the United States that are enhancing health care resilience.

RSVP to [email protected]

Michael S. Sparer, PhD, JD, studies and writes about the politics of health care, with a particular emphasis on the health insurance and health delivery systems for low-income populations, and the ways in which inter-governmental relations influences policy, both in the U.S. and abroad. His current projects include a review and analysis of lessons learned from thirty years of Medicaid managed care programs, a book funded by the RWJ Investigator Program, which examines how American Federalism influenced the politics and substance of the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and a comparison of inter-governmental health politics in the U.S. and the UK. He is a two-time winner of the Mailman School's Student Government Association Teacher of the Year Award, as well as the recipient of a 2010 Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. Professor Sparer spent seven years as a litigator for the New York City Law Department, specializing in inter-governmental social welfare litigation. After leaving the practice of law, he obtained a PhD in Political Science from Brandeis University. Professor Sparer is the former editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and the author of Medicaid and the Limits of State Health Reform, as well as numerous articles and book chapters.