While the uneven government response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have been responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths, the pandemic revealed larger issues of health inequity across U.S. society. Andy Slavitt, former Biden White House COVID-19 senior advisor and acting CMS administrator, has outlined the mistakes made, the larger picture of healthcare in America, and prescriptions for alleviating some of those problems. He will be in discussion with Towsley Policymaker in Residence and health advocate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

About the book:
From former Biden Senior Advisor Andy Slavitt, Preventable is the definitive inside account of the United States' failed response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Slavitt chronicles what he saw and how much could have been prevented—an unflinching investigation of the cultural, political, and economic drivers that led to unnecessary loss of life.

With unparalleled access to the key players throughout the government on both sides of the aisle, the principal public figures, as well as the people working on the frontline involved in fighting the virus, Slavitt brings you into the room as fateful decisions are made and focuses on the people at the center of the political system, health care system, patients, and caregivers. The story that emerges is one of a country in which—despite the heroics of many—bad leadership, political and cultural fractures, and an unwillingness to sustain sacrifice light a fuse that is difficult to extinguish.

Written in the tradition of The Big Short, Preventable continues Andy Slavitt’s important work of addressing the uncomfortable realities that brought America to this place. And, he puts forth the solutions that will prevent us from being here again, ensuring a better, stronger country for everyone.

More information: https://fordschool.umich.edu/event/2021/preventable-covid-19-healthcare-and-future