Ebola

Ebola highlights public health crisis

The death of Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan, who succumbed to Ebola in a Dallas hospital, is of course tragic. But the extraordinarily poor way his case appears to have been handled may also inadvertently have done the United States an enormous service -- not just in shining a light on the threat posed by this virus but also by revealing the profound problems both in our health care delivery system and the public health programs supposed to help prevent outbreaks, track contacts and control the spread of disease.

Ebola Case Exposes Weakness in US Preparedness

Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, talks with Rachel Maddow about how funding cuts and other systemic challenges have put the U.S. at a disadvantage in dealing with health emergencies.