Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman thinks political candidates sharing their medical records will "cause more harm than good," and made his point in a blog post on The Wall Street Journal.
Here are four key reasons why Mr. Altman isn't in favor of more transparency when it comes to medical records for political candidates:
1. The focus of attack ads and social media smear campaigns become more about the candidates' health than their ability to lead the country. Mr. Altman proposes a formalized process for reporting medical information, including information that could prevent the candidates from completing a term in office.
2. Medical records could show a candidate was treated for depression or sexually transmitted diseases that become a privacy violation, as these treatments wouldn't prevent the candidates from fulfilling the responsibilities of their office.
3. The focus on health and age is unwarranted, Mr. Altman argued, because a young, healthy person can suffer debilitating or fatal conditions, such as a heart attack. Mr. Altman offered the youngest person elected president, John F. Kennedy, as an example. Mr. Kennedy had serious health conditions, but was still able to run the country.
4. If the true goal of divulging medical records is to ensure candidates don't create undue risk on the presidency with an unreported medical condition, then a panel of physicians could review medical records without making the information public and distracting from other issues.