How to save billions in health care costs

Edition: US - Today's top story: How investing in public health could cure many health care problems [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 2 October 2017 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note With attempts to repeal Obamacare at a standstill, now is a good time to talk about how to cut rising health care costs. One important way to do that, says Linda P. Fried, the dean of Columbia University’s Mailman School, is to focus on public health. Ultimately, this could lower the amount the U.S. spends on chronic diseases or [86 percent of all health care expenses](. While many in the nation are still watching PBS’s “The Vietnam War,” literature scholar Barbara Will draws attention to [eight names on the Vietnam War Memorial]( that are not like the others. And on the 148th birth anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi, the University of Florida’s Whitney Sanford explains what made his [strategy of non-violent resistance]( so effective and what today’s protesters can learn from it. Lynne Anderson Senior Editor, Health & Medicine Top story The Flint, Michigan water crisis highlighted problems with aging infrastructure. Ehrlif/Shutterstock.com [How investing in public health could cure many health care problems]( Linda P. Fried, Columbia University Medical Center For a country that spends more than US$3 trillion on health care, we are still dealing with many chronic health problems. Funding for clean water, sidewalks and smoking cessation could help. Arts + Culture - [The difference between black football fans and white football fans]( Tamir Sorek, University of Florida; Robert G. White, University of Florida A recent study might explain why there's been such divergent, emotional responses to the NFL protests. Science + Technology - [Three steps Congress could take to help resolve the net neutrality debate – without legislating a fix]( Timothy Brennan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County As the issue of an open and free internet again comes up for public debate, Congress could participate – and help regulators devise a workable set of policies. - [Dear Elon Musk: Your dazzling Mars plan overlooks some big nontechnical hurdles]( Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University Musk’s audacious plan to blast people to Mars by 2024 glosses over some important social and political challenges that SpaceX will need to successfully navigate to get off the ground. Health + Medicine - [Don't take opioids off the market - make it harder to abuse them]( Zaina Qureshi, University of South Carolina How can we fight the opioid epidemic? Redesign the drugs, rethink how we assess patients and mandate prescription monitoring. Ethics + Religion - [What Gandhi can teach today's protesters]( Whitney Sanford, University of Florida For Gandhi, whose birth anniversary is Monday, Oct. 2, nonviolent resistance meant placing one's own body in harm’s way to expose social injustices, which made it a powerful political tool. Politics + Society - [American women died in Vietnam, too]( Barbara Will, Dartmouth College Almost hidden in the orderly rows of men's names on the Vietnam War Memorial are those of eight female nurses who died in the conflict. Trending on site - [Are Puerto Ricans really American citizens?]( Charles R. Venator-Santiago, University of Connecticut Over the years, Puerto Ricans have in fact been granted three different types of U.S. citizenship, but questions about their rights and equal treatment as citizens still remain. - [Brewing a great cup of coffee depends on chemistry and physics]( Christopher H. Hendon, University of Oregon The science behind why what your barista achieves at the cafe tastes better than what you can come up with at home. - [How the anal cancer epidemic in gay and bi HIV-positive men can be prevented]( Ashish A. Deshmukh, University of Florida; Elizabeth Chiao, Baylor College of Medicine ; Jagpreet Chhatwal, Harvard Medical School ; Scott B. Cantor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center A new study shows that anal cancer, caused by the virus HPV, can be successfully fought in HIV-positive men by timely treatment and HPV vaccination of lesions that may ultimately lead to cancer. Today’s quote [If Congress could enact legislation that removed the distinction between “telecommunication” and “information” services, reinforced the importance of the public interest in communications and restored antitrust enforcement power for regulators, the FCC would be better able to develop net neutrality regulations – whatever they may turn out to be – with solid substantive and legal foundations.]( [Three steps Congress could take to help resolve the net neutrality debate – without legislating a fix]( Timothy Brennan University of Maryland, Baltimore County [Timothy Brennan] [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 625 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 USA