Covering up Health Information: A Critique of Past Presidents and the Need for Transparency in Future Elections

The concealment of important health information by past presidents has been a topic of concern among experts. Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease, which was not diagnosed until after his second term, may have affected his speech and judgment. Other presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Lyndon B. Johnson, and John F. Kennedy also kept their health conditions from the public eye.

It is crucial for presidential candidates to disclose key health information to the public before taking office. Age is not the only factor that determines a candidate’s ability to serve as president. Former President Jimmy Carter established a working group on presidential disabilities in 1994 and proposed that a non-partisan panel perform medical evaluations on candidates to ensure transparency in their health status.

Independent medical assessments are vital for candidates to provide accurate and reliable information about their health status. Personal physicians may withhold information that a president or candidate wishes to keep confidential. Arthur Caplan, head of bioethics at New York University, suggests that a panel appointed by the National Academy of Medicine and Science could perform evaluations to ensure transparency in the health status of candidates. For example, President Trump’s unconventional health note in 2016 raised concerns about the accuracy and reliability of personal physician reports.

Therefore, it is essential for presidential candidates to be transparent about their health status and provide independent medical assessments to ensure that they can fulfill their duties as president effectively.