Conference: Debt, Dignity, and Healthcare – Guaranteeing Health Rights and Universal Health Coverage

Each year in low and middle-income countries tens of thousands of people are detained in public and private hospitals for non-payment of medical bills, despite the fact that such detention is a both violation of constitutional and human rights law and inconsistent with efforts towards universal health coverage (UHC). Such hospital detention for nonpayment of bills disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people, including post-partum women and children. These detentions are not just scandalous abuses, but the predictable result of failures of financing, priority-setting, and legal oversight, which are required for all countries—rich and poor alike—to achieve UHC under the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to respect “healthcare as a human right.”

This event will feature Robert Yates of Chatham House, which has conducted an in-depth investigation of the phenomenon of hospital detentions. Additional panelists will address manifestations of predatory lending and surprise medical fees in the United States, the ethical imperatives of financing and priority setting for UHC in general, and the implications for thinking about healthcare as a human right.

This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and registration is required. Register now!