NHS Professor Speaks To Ukrainian Visitors

Robert Friedland, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Systems Administration at NHS, addressed a group from Ukraine on Monday, July 23.

Friedland, a health care economist, spoke to the group—a delegation of Ukrainian parliamentary and ministerial staff—about health care policy and politics.

"In this country, about half the people who declare bankruptcy…do so because of their medical bills," noted Friedland, while addressing financing, access, and delivery issues.

"Access to health care is very uneven," he also said, pointing to cultural, linguistic, and regional barriers.

The Ukrainian visitors are in the United States participating in a three-week program sponsored by Georgetown’s Center for Intercultural Education and Development.

While on campus, they are walking through the full cycle of the policymaking process in the United States—from policy development through legislation, implementation, evaluation and adjustment.