Beyond the Affordable Care Act: Achieving Real Improvements in Americans' Health

ABSTRACT – Improved access to health care is essential if we are to fill the striking gaps between how healthy Americans are and how healthy they could be. But access alone is not enough. Health and longevity are also profoundly influenced by where and how Americans live, learn, work, and play.

Recognizing this, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America has identified concrete, feasible actions outside of medical care that constitute an urgent agenda for improving America’s health. These recommendations require action at all levels of society to promote development and health in childhood, good nutrition, and communities conducive to good health.

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Authors

Mark B. McClellan

Director

Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform
Alice M. Rivlin

Senior Fellow

Economic Studies
David R. Williams

Florence S. and Laura S. Norman Professor of Public Health; professor of African and African American studies and sociology, Harvard University