Soc490 Week 5

As the weeks go on, our discussion of health care gets more and more in depth. It's a very difficult topic because there are just so many pros and cons. As we read, my personal opinion tends to go back and fourth as the semester continues. I started out thinking that health care is a privilege and I am still thinking it is. However, I am understanding more of the opposing side and there are a few points made that I can agree with.

In the readings from this week, I thought it was interesting that Robert Helms mentioned, "These frugal payment policies [Medicaid/Medicare] save some money but force many patients to seek care in hospital emergency rooms because they cannot find a physician that will accept Medicaid patients." His argument is that if we have universal health care, we have to deal with people taking advantage of the system. This is a good example of that because these people do not necessarily need to go to the emergency room but they do anyways. 

On the other hand, Malcolm Gladwell has the opposite opinion and does not think that people will abuse the system. He makes a good point by saying, "People who are very well insured, who are very rich,do you see them check into the hospital because it's free?" However, this is just directed towards people who have insurance. I feel as though when the people who do not have insurance receive it, they will take advantage of it since they did not have it before. 

We also discussed a lot about our control over our health. One point that was brought up in class is what exactly is the definition of 'health' and being 'healthy.' Everyone has a different definition so it cannot be directly answered as to if we have control over it. Health and being healthy in my opinion is being able to live day to day without having physical difficulties or pain. Someone can still live with cancer and still be considered healthy by my definition. There are ways to prevent becoming unhealthy such as obesity. There aren't nearly as many fast food restaurants in Italy than in the U.S. Also, it is more common for people to have cars and drive everywhere when in Italy they use public transportation more and walk. Overall, the Italians have a more healthy lifestyle.