Our Practices

Paying for Medical Care

Health care first took form through Babylonian merchants used in order to insure goods. Evolving immensely to a system where Americans began paying a fee for service. As more time passed, everything grew furiously; hospitals began to raise their fees, growing in size (technonoglly, people), and decreasing level of services. Many times patients could not afford these highly priced fees. Qualified for bankruptcy Hospitals were in trouble. Therefore a change was made: people could pay 50 cents a month to hospitals in return for 20 days of “free” care within the initiation. This worked for hospitals, because they were content with the import of money. It worked for people as well because they were assured hospitals stays. Due to a successful new system, private companies adjusted their methods to supplying work places with the same type of coverage.

Now in a new battle of health care. Health insures pick and choice those whom they want to coverage. Making profit is the first most important priority of health insures. This is better supported with Michael Moore’s film titled Sicko. This movie provides examples of families, individuals and work places covered and not covered. It demonstrates the parallels between Americans healthcare system to others system of universal care. Millions of Americans are denied coverage. A mother of one diagnosed with cancer was not allowed treatment for being “to sick.” She found a solution in going to Canada and getting the coverage and treatment she needed there. She did it without waiting to long, without to much hassle. On the other end Millions of American cannot afford to keep up with the coverage they have. As shown in the movie a middle class employed couple found themselves faced with serious health conditions. Together they could not afford the costs and were forced out of their home and into their child’s.

Obama came into office promising change with a main focus on universal healthcare. He approached the issue by saying " everyone must be heard.” Obama a long with a keyboard of people who all were equipped with prior knowledge and have worked in office before try and reform healthcare. Obama addresses a problem with health care companies after they spend ten of millions of dollars to defect the healthcare reform, by addressing to the public that healthcare providers are "funding studies to mislead American people." A passing healthcare plan is in effective take place. However with republican’s new power, there is a movement to have the plan revised or annulled.

Isolation:

Isolation: alone, physically separated from others. It plays a major role in the dying process of the patient and the patients loved ones. From personal and first hand experiences I believe when people are sick they usually chose to isolate themselves; from other people, and from the outside world. Not only them but also sometimes the people close to them isolated themselves away as well. At times it can be a challenge to be around sick people. Especially if they are ones we love, people do not like to see when others are uncomfortable or in pain. Although doctors and hospitals might not be always being necessary it provides people with a sense of comfort. The ill get the satisfaction that they are close to people who have the ability to give them treatment. The others are provided with a sense of comfort knowing that the person they care for is in a place where they can potential receive treatment. So the sick is placed with the other sick, while the willing healthy tend to them. Weather it be isolation at home, or an institution like a hospital or nursing home, it’s all the same.

Goffman’s STIGMA claims the normal response to others with stigma is the commonly shared belief that they are not quiet human. People do what they can to stay presentable. It is ingrained in people that one needs to represent themselves in such a way that is acceptable. At time “ When one becomes near death or ill, others treat him/her as if they are from a different planet visiting our world. We treat them differently when compared to our treatment of others.” When people are sick they lose their cover, often times they look unaccepted, and repellent. Which provides a justification for a stigmatized individual to keep the sick isolated.

Facing Terminal Illness:

A terminal illness comes with knowing it’s the end. With a terminal illness the person has no better choice than to be ok with it. However people approach it in many different ways. Some chose to grief in sadness. As hard as it may be some can accept the fact that their time is quickly running out, do what they can to make the best of it. Like the main character in Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie diagnosed with a terminal disease. Not ashamed or quiet about it, Morrie embraces death. He is surprisingly comfortable talking about death to anyone who is curious. Making his disease somewhat of a public event he was visited by many. He was considered an expert source of the process of death, “its natural to die.” (173) Morrie accepted that this time was quickly coming to an end, and the best way to handle it was to accept, “Everything’s that gets born, dies. (170)

Unlike Morrie, some find the topic of death to daunting. Some people chose to cover up the fact of illness, and ignore the outcome of death. Beth’s thought it was better not to use words related to death, dying with her dying husband. Her philosophy was to remain positive about life. While it is inevitable in all forms of life, death can be an uncomfortable topic. People chose to handle dying in different ways, without any evidence to which one is better.

Getting sick

Erik did not take action to improve his physical health until it got to its worst point. People are different when they are sick. Like Erik, tending to an illness is not most people first priorities. We constantly convince ourselves our bodies are fine, by adjusting our attitude and covering up our weaknesses, and sense of mortality. We do not want to lose our face, to running noses, alarming coughing.

Similar of waiting until the last minute to address illness, “Death is rarely spoken of or foreseen until shortly before it occurs.” (Sharon)

Kaufman, Sharon R. And A Time to Die: How American Hospitals shape the end of life. Simon & Schuster New York 2005