At first glance, it came seem difficult to find meaningful online forums on the politics of health in the United States. But that’s just because most of the good ones are hidden away, subcategorized under politics forums of this or that flavor. To save you the trouble of having to look for them, here are 10 of the best.
1. topix – Health Care Policy Forum (www.topix.com/forum/health/health-care-policy). Topix is a massive site for forum discussion, with threads for everything from Casey Anthony to Oxycontin. The Health Care forum is well-moderated, like most on Topix, and lively, with an index to search for any topic you like, while starting a new thread is just a click away.
2. House of Politics – Health (http://houseofpolitics.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=34). HoP is a relatively small forum (about 1,500 members) with a group of threads focused on health and its realationship to US politics that get a new post about once a week or so. Obama fans need not visit this site, which tends to lean a bit heavily to the side than a certain tower in Italy.
3. U.S. Politics Online-(http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/health-care/). One of the most active forums on politics, USPO has barely 4,000 members but boasts nearly 60,000 threads, of which around 700 are dedicated solely to health issues. A nice touch: online moderators are conveniently listed in hypertext at the bottom of the screen in case you need to IM them.
4. AARP – Health Care and Politics Discussion (http://www.aarp.org/online-community/groups/index.action?slGroupKey=Group21052&slPage=overview). The AARP is a huge organization, but until now not so much online for obvious reasons. However, there are nearly 1,000 members here, and the UI is extremely easy to use and understand. Kudos for their Facebook-style “Recent Group Activity” page: simple and intuitive
5. Liberal Forum (http://liberalforum.org/liberalforum/index.php?/forum/43-health-insurance-for-all-americans/). If there was any question about which side this site is on, it’s dispelled by the intro page: “We welcome the opportunity to knock some sense into the minds of these folks who, unfortunately, are wrong.” Glenn Beck fans need not apply.
6. Political Forum.com (http://www.politicalforum.com/health-care/). For 50,000 members, this site is surprisingly Web 1.0, with simple graphics and ads at top. But hey, they do have neat little red envelope icons to show which threads are “hot”.
7. Politics Forum.org (http://www.politicsforum.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=40&sid=10ffa66509f71fb0f29a52cbe22f0f3d). After the severe disclaimer you have to click through to get here, you might think it’s full of X-rated pictures or something—but no, it’s just PO’d Americans venting. The Health & Education has got more than 7,000 posts on 400+ topics.
8. Debate Politics (http://www.debatepolitics.com/health-care/). In contrast to some of the sites above, this one makes an effort to make sure that everyone gets a chance to express their views. If you’re looking for healthy debate on the subject, this is a good place to start.
9. US Message Board (http://www.usmessageboard.com/healthcare-insurance-govt-healthcare/). 1800+ thread, 20,000 members, neat cloud search tags box at the bottom to help you find the thread you’re looking for.
10. Political Hotwire (http://www.politicalhotwire.com/healthcare/). Fairly small forum with a neat arcade game sidebar as long as you’re registered on the site.
Dave Turner generally writes about admissions requirements for students who are interested in earning a master of health administration.