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01-12-2020 | Public Health | Viewpoint

The United States Postal Service: an Essential Public Health Agency?

Authors: Syed M. Qasim Hussaini, MD, MS, G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS

Published in: Journal of General Internal Medicine | Issue 12/2020

Excerpt

On August 7, 2020, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced cost-cutting measures and leadership changes to reorient core aspects of the service and to improve efficiency. Considerable debate has since ensued regarding whether, how and when these changes should be implemented, in part due to concerns about potential voter disenfranchisement during the upcoming national election.¹ Deliberation regarding these matters, while essential in its own right, also provides an opportunity to consider the broader role of the USPS as a public health agency. …

U.S. Postal Service letters to state. Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/u-s-postal-service-letters-to-states/b50799f2-25ad-40ed-ba1e-9d648b1814ad/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_6 (Accessed Aug 22, 2020).

Cubanski, Biniek JF, Rae M, Damico A, Frederiksen B, Salganicoff A. Mail Delays Could Affect Mail-Order Prescriptions for Millions of Medicare Part D and Large Employer Plan Enrollees. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2020. Available at: https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/mail-delays-could-affect-mail-order-prescriptions-for-millions-of-medicare-part-d-and-large-employer-plan-enrollees/ (Accessed August 21, 2020).

Klain H, Morris K, Feldman F, Ayala R. Waiting to Vote: Racial Disparities in Election Day Experiences. Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. 2020. Available at: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/waiting-vote# (Accessed August 21, 2020).

Chen MK, Haggag K, Pope DG, Rohla R. Racial Disparities in Voting Wait Times: Evidence from Smartphone Data. National Journal of Economic Research. 2019. NBER Working Paper #26487. Available at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26487 (Accessed August 21, 2020).

The contribution of the postal service in national emergencies: A Case Study of its Role in Katrina and its Emergency Preparedness Efforts. 2011. Joy Leong Consulting, LLC, for Postal Regulatory Commission. Available at: https://www.prc.gov/sites/default/files/archived/Emergency_Prep_Report.pdf (Accessed August 21, 2020).

National Association of Letter Carriers. Carrier Alert: Your neighborhood letter carrier wants to help you. Available at: https://www.nalc.org/community-service/carrier-alert (Accessed August 21, 2020).

Frankel TC. Postal problems could continue despite suspension of policies blamed for mail delays: Slow mail and political warefare – and the pandemic – have thrown the agency into crisis. Washington Post. August 19, 2020. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/19/postal-problems-could-continue-despite-suspension-policies-blamed-mail-delays/ (Accessed August 21, 2020).

Title: The United States Postal Service: an Essential Public Health Agency?
Authors: Syed M. Qasim Hussaini, MD, MS
G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS
Publication date: 01-12-2020
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Keyword: Public Health
Published in: Journal of General Internal Medicine / Issue 12/2020
Print ISSN: 0884-8734
Electronic ISSN: 1525-1497
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06275-2

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