In a new STAT First Opinion, Charles E. Leonard, PharmD, MSCE, MPH, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, argues that access to air conditioning should be treated as essential preventive care for people living with chronic diseases—not a discretionary amenity. As extreme heat intensifies, it increasingly disrupts disease management, particularly for individuals with diabetes, through dehydration, unstable glycemic control, and degraded temperature-sensitive medications.
He examines how the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has not kept pace with this reality. Federal policy continues to treat cooling as optional, leaving access uneven and medically vulnerable populations—disproportionately lower-income households and structurally disadvantaged communities—at greater risk during heat waves. He also discussed these issues in recent coverage from The Daily Pennsylvanian article on cooling assistance and LIHEAP.
He outlines practical federal reforms to stabilize and modernize LIHEAP and to establish baseline protections against utility shutoffs during extreme heat. The central point is simple: as heat-related health risks grow, energy policy is increasingly health policy.
The op-ed was coauthored with Anthony Nicome, MHS, MPH, a public health policy expert and former program manager for the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council focused on climate, energy insecurity, and health.