Aspen Ideas Festival

In every leader's journey, there is a moment, or a series of moments, that stand out — a miserable failure, a grand success, a total surprise. The magic in that experience is rarely just the moment itself, but most often the way in which each leader responded to it. It is that response that shapes a person’s approach to challenge and change forever after.

Poverty is a powerful stressor that influences growth and development in children, and physical and mental health throughout adulthood. Science and imaging technology are making its impact visible, demonstrating how the socioeconomic disparities that flow from historical injustice alter brain structures.

A passion for food — growing it, cooking it, and eating it — has become one of the favorite pastimes of countless people. Did it all begin with James Beard? Learn why that claim is made in the new PBS American Masters documentary, James Beard: America’s First Foodie. Following the film, Corby Kummer, food writer for The Atlantic, will lead a panel discussion with two of America’s great chefs.

Infectious diseases represent one of the greatest threats to global health and security. The failures of the Ebola crisis demonstrated that we remain woefully unprepared, but they also served as a wake-up call at the highest levels of policymaking across nations. The twelve-country Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future has urgently recommended an international commitment.

It’s been called the most perilous drug crisis ever. In the United States, the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, overdose deaths have quadrupled since 1999, killing 91 people every day. Pharmaceutical pain relief is an essential clinical tool, but with physicians writing some 240 million opioid prescriptions to Americans every year, the potential for abuse is enormous.

The rise of radicalization and violent extremism is a worldwide threat that seems to defy military solutions and cannot be countered only by the vigilance of law enforcement.

Health investors may be venture capitalists, willing to take big risks for the possibility of big returns; foundations that use program-related investments to generate a return on capital while supporting their charitable interests; or social entrepreneurs, who hope to do well by doing good.

White working-class voters without a college education are most vulnerable to diseases of despair — suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related liver disease — and they are also most likely to have voted for President Trump. This population is deeply concerned about rising health care costs, according to focus groups conducted by the Kaiser Foundation.

Community health workers, social media networks, and local residents serve as the first line of defense against global health risks, especially infectious diseases and bioterrorism. While top-down initiatives provide essential resources to detect looming threats, including sophisticated surveillance and diagnostic tools, outbreaks are most likely to be detected first at the local level.

Many health systems are retooling to provide “patient-centered care,” defined by the Institute of Medicine as a partnership between providers and patients that respects individual preferences, needs, and values. The use of big data to individualize treatment, detect clinical trends, share best practices, and predict the risks of infection and drug side effects is also reshaping patterns of care.

Regardless of the fate of the Affordable Care Act, the American health care system will continue to undergo an historic transformation, fueled by evolving science and technology, new approaches to reimbursement, restructured provider networks, and demographic shifts. The health policies of the future are likely to reflect the influences of both conservative and progressive thinkers. Somehow, they

Responsibility for implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in line with Congressional intent, rests with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The 21st secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, discusses the impact of the law since it was passed under her watch in 2010. She'll also talk about the provisions Congress might alter, the extent to which the executive branch can chip away