Washington Post: Democracy matters for health care. Here’s how we measured this.
Tom Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations; Tara Templin, health policy PhD student at Stanford University; and Simon Wigley, associate professor of philosophy and department chair at Bilkent University

“…[N]ew research suggests that elections and health are increasingly inseparable. [A] new article in The Lancet details the first comprehensive study to assess the link between democracy and disease-specific mortality in 170 countries between 1980 and 2016. Here are some key takeaways about democracy and health. 1. Democracy matters more for chronic diseases … 2. Where democracy matters on health, it will matter more in the future. … 3. The health effects of democracy are not just a by-product of increased wealth. … 4. Free and fair elections are the critical factor. … 5. The future of global health is political…” (3/22).