universal health care provided in other countries are all seriously corrupted by bureaucracy and thus are found extremely unsatisfying by local people who desperately need medical care. Besides, universal health care system has long been criticized by American government as a product of socialist totalitarianism which helps bring out an overwhelmingly powerful and manipulative big government and thus presents immediate threat to people’s freedom and democracy. However, as indicated by the film, socialized services are not at all new to America. Services involving firefighting, public education, postal service and public libraries are all very much socialized in the country.
8. Why does the filmmaker take us for a tour in Canada, Britain and France? How is he impressed by the health care systems there? What benefits do their health care systems bring to the needed, the practitioners, and the nation as a whole? What does the American system bring to its people instead? The filmmaker starts a tour in Canada, Britain and France because he wants to see with his own eyes whether the non-profit universal health care systems in the three countries are as terrible as believed by most Americans. During the tours, the filmmaker is amazed to see that people in the three countries all enjoy great medical care, free of charge, and they all feel proud of such a practice. Under their systems, people who need medical care are all properly taken care of; practitioners are well-paid and at the same time can easily get a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from their work; and the nation as a whole enjoy better health conditions and even longer life expectancies than the Americans. Comparatively, the American system takes advantage of the American people, constantly refusing to take care of the sick and leaving most of the others in worries for high medical bills and great burdens of working hard to meet their ends. The system also deprives the practitioners the sense of pride and satisfaction in their work.
9. According to Tony Benn, former member of the British Parliament, which health care system is democratic and which one is a threat to the fundamental idea of democracy? Why? As Tony Benn contends in the film, non-profit universal health care is democratic in the way that it brings happiness to people’s life, providing them with great care and giving them the opportunity to get recharged, feel fulfilled, develop a strong sense of social responsibility as well as a desire to help develop the overall social well-being. As can be seen in France, only an educated, confident, and healthy pubic can readily become enthusiastic participants in democratic deliberations. He explains that it is the American health
care system which presents a real threat to the fundamental idea of democracy because the system keeps people live under high burdens with low sense of self-esteem or social responsibility, and thus reduces them into enslaved labors who are too busy minding their own business to spare time and energy for democratic deliberations.
10. Why is the filmmaker heading for Guantanamo? Who are on board of the
boat with him? Do they get what they want in Guantanamo? Where do they finally end up instead?
The filmmaker decides to head for Guantanamo with a number of Americans who are desperately seeking for proper medical care, including several of those who once served the country as rescue workers at the time of 911 attack and thus were hailed by the country as national heroes. They learn from the news reports and public hearings that in the America-owned Guantanamo, the government provides excellent medical care for the imprisoned terrorists including those who are involved in the 911 attack. They claim that they want to go there to get the medical treatment they need. They are ignored and later warned by the Guantanamo guards and thus fail to get the medical care they want, but by doing so, they succeed in challenging the government for turning its back to its own national heroes while out of political interest, generously providing medical care for the criminals and for the country’s enemies. Leaving Guantanamo, they end up in Cuba instead. 11. What is the myth most American people hold about Cuba? Do they finally
get what they want in Cuba? How they think of their experience in Cuba?
American government has taken Cuba as its enemy since the Cold War era, so due to the propaganda, Cuba has long been considered by most Americans as a very poor country where people’s fundamental human rights are all deprived by their authoritarian government. However, in Cuba, they find under a system of government-sponsored non-profit universal health care, medical treatment is easily accessible to all and to their surprise, the drugs which are highly expensive in America, are sold at cost in Cuba. Finally, all of them get the medical treatments they need in Cuba, free of charge, and the former rescue workers are treated as honored guests. The experience not only brings a deep sense of gratitude to the help they get in Cuba, but also evokes a deep disgust in the American health care system which makes high profits at the cost of people’s interest as well as a strong sense of shame on their own government’s indifference to people’s well-being.
V. Research Activities
Four basic aspects
a. The failing health care system in the US; b. The free Universal Health Care in UK;
c. The current situation of health care system in China; d. Your idea on a better health care system.
These four aspects are the selected four sides related to healthcare system. There are other aspects that students may research according to their own preferences. The information provided below serves as some supplementary material only. The students are free to present any material relevant to the four aspects. Their presentations should include both factual information and their own opinions or comments.
a. The failing health care system in the US
The Health Care System in the US
Kathy Gill
The nation's health care system is once again in the spotlight as part of President Obama's policy agenda; it was a priority issue during the 2008 campaign. Growing numbers of Americans are uninsured; costs keep rising (annual growth rate, 6.7%); and the public is increasingly worried about the issue. The U.S. spends more money on health care than any other nation. By 2017, we will be spending about $13,000 per person, according to the annual projection by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Less than 60% of us are covered by an employer's policy.
Who Has Health Insurance In The U.S.? Only about 6-in-10 of us have employer-provided health care insurance, and almost 2-in-10 had no health insurance in 2006, according to the US Census. Children in poverty are more likely (19.3 percent in 2006) to be uninsured than all children (10.9 percent in 2005). The percentage of people covered by government health programs decreased to 27.0 percent in 2006 from 27.3 percent in 2005. About half were covered by Medicaid. One political question: how to provide affordable health care to Americans with no insurance?
How Much Does Health Care In The U.S. Cost? According to the Department of Health and Human Services, as a percentage of gross domestic product, known as GDP, health care spending is projected to increase to 16.3 percent in 2007 from 16.0 percent in 2006. Through 2017, growth in health spending is expected to outpace that of GDP by an annual average of 1.9 percentage points. This projected differential in growth rates is smaller than the 2.7 percentage-point average difference experienced over the past 30 years, but wider than the
average differential (0.3 percentage point) observed for 2004 through 2006.
What Is U.S. Public Opinion On Health Care? According to Kaiser, health care was the number two issue early in the 2008 presidential campaign, behind Iraq. It was important to almost 4-in-10 Democrats and Independents and 3-in-10 Republicans. Most people (83-93%) who are insured are satisfied with their plan and coverage. Nevertheless, 41% are concerned about rising costs and 29% are worried about losing their insurance. Public Agenda reports than in 2007, 50 percent believed the health care system needed fundamental change; another 38 percent said \reported that 59 percent of us believe reducing health care costs should be a priority for President Obama and Congress.
What Does Health Care Reform Mean? The U.S. health care system is a complex mix of public and private programs. Most Americans who have health care insurance have an employer-sponsored plan. But the federal government insures the poor (Medicaid) and elderly (Medicare) as well as veterans and federal employees and Congressmen. State-run programs insure other public employees. Reform plans usually take one of three approaches: control/reduce costs but don't change the current structure; expand eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid; or scratch the system and start over. The later is the most radical plan and is sometimes called \pay\consensus.
Why Is It So Hard To Reach Consensus on Health Care Reform? In 2007, total U.S. spending was $2.4 trillion ($7900 per person); it represented 17 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Spending for 2008 is expected to increase 6.9 percent, twice the rate of inflation. This continues a long-standing trend. Health care is big business. Politicians want to control costs but they cannot agree on how to stem the tide of outlays or the increased cost of insurance. Some want prices controls; others think that market competition will solve all problems.
The flip side of controlling cost is controlling demand. If Americans had more healthy lifestyles (exercise, diet), then costs would decline as health care demand declined. However, we don't yet legislate these types of behavior.
(Another source: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/health/us-health-care-system.php)