In remembrance of John Iglehart
By Peter J. Neumann
The passing of John Iglehart, the Founding Editor of Health Affairs, and a monumental figure in the health policy community for decades, is an opportunity to honor his legacy and offer some personal reflections.
I first met John in 1986 when I worked at Project HOPE down the hall from the Health Affairs’ offices, which at the time had only two or three staff members. He reminded me of Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reported, with an aw shucks, Midwestern-nice demeanor.
But John had his own superpower in his ability to build and sustain a health policy journal with an outsized influence. John’s personality -- the equanimity and likeability that engendered trust -- was a key ingredient in Health Affairs’ success. It helped, too, that he seemed neutral in his politics, curious about all arguments, and desiring only to be an honest broker in airing diverse views. And it helped immensely that he was a facile writer, able to translate complex issues into spare, silky prose, as he did in scores of columns as the National Correspondent for the New England Journal of Medicine. (The secret to good writing, he would say, is to use descriptive verbs, not descriptive adjectives.) It also helped that, unlike most journal editors, John was a journalist not an academic, which gave Health Affairs a heightened sensitivity to newsworthiness and less tolerance for lumbering prose.
Still, a winning temperament and rhetorical flair do not necessarily translate to institution building. That takes other skills, which John also possessed in abundance: an entrepreneurial bent, fundraising prowess, and an ability to hire and manage staff, deliver gentle rejections to thin-skinned authors (sometimes after inviting their submissions), and oversee the rush of deadlines and daily headaches of running a quarterly (and subsequently monthly) journal. He was constantly on the prowl for new perspectives, not only academic ones (especially not just academic ones). He sought out new and different voices: young ones, controversial ones, global health ones, and ones from the business community. Because of John, Health Affairs became an authoritative and influential publication, resonating at universities and in boardrooms and on the Hill. The number of authors and topics reflected in its pages is astounding. It was a great honor to be a longtime member of the editorial board.
John’s passing marks a profound loss for the health policy community, but also an opportunity to remember his vision and influence. Our deepest condolences to his wife Mary and his extended family.