Week 2

I am planning to survey some family members and family friends (their ages range from 21-60ish, and a mix of males and females) on what type of healthcare is best suited for the US, how they feel about the current healthcare system, how much they know about healthcare, if they are affected in anyway by the current healthcare system, their reaction on Obamacare and other healthcare legislation. I will administer my survey through GoogleDocs. My prediction is that those who are Democratic are going to naturally agree with the legislation passed underneath Obama, such as Obamacare and they might not like the current healthcare system. The Republicans are going to disagree with Obamacare and the legislation. Since many of my surveyees are a little older, the younger ones may not know much about healthcare while the older ones know more and might be becoming affected by it. I do also have some family members that work in hospitals so it will be interesting how they react to this survey.

Semester 2

For the second semester, I am choosing to do a survey on what types of healthcare people prefer most. I plan on making a Google Doc and sending it to 20 people that I know (probably ages 17-60). I feel like this will be the most efficient  way to see what people really think and believe about our current healthcare system, and healthcare systems around the world. It will be interesting to see what the majority of my survey-ees think. Hopefully they respond lol

Cuts to Affect Army's Health Care

The layoff of Army civilians, who primarily make up the health care system, will have a serious affect on the behavioral health care portion. The Army's health care is specialized in providing warrior care, primary care, behavioral health, and others. It is a hope among the civilians that the Army will be able to exempt the majority from the furloughs. Another option that is bringing hope is that soldier-providers will be able to step up to the plate and help in the jobs of those being cut.

One health care system that seemed to be untouchable is now being reformed because of budget cuts and other factors. The military needs to have all of it's top medical providers present, but if many of those doctors and nurses are civilians, then they have the risk of losing their job. I feel that this will ultimately hurt everyone involved in the system and that this should tried to be fixed because the Army needs all the people it can get.

Doctors and Medicare Cost

One of the great debates of the health care system is how to lower the cost so that it doesnt eat up the budget? One way is by changing the fee-for-service payment of doctors. Doctors are paid based on the number of services they provide. In our current system, some doctors urge patients to get imaging and surgery so that they get paid. Radiologists and surgeons are among the highest ranking doctors since their jobs have a higher risk. But the doctors that we usually visit, such as our pediatrician, arent paid as much yet spend more time engaged with the patient. 

I feel that this gap in pay between specialists and primary care givers is some what unreasonable. I do agree that if doctors such as radiologists and neurologists should get paid more because of the risk factor, but it also seems like just plain doctors are being forgotten. The inequalities are very high and is affecting our health system. Money is a driving force now in our hospitals since the more you perform, the more you get paid.

Denied Medical Care?

This story really makes me sad.

A couple who lives in the Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem was denied a doctor because of the area she lived in. The wife called an emergency service company for a doctor to come on a house-call and examine her feverish husband. She was afraid that he had the swine flu, but was too weak to even stand on his feet so they could go to a doctor/hospital.The representative who she spoke said that the doctor would not go to her house because she lives in the Arab part of town. She assured him that it was safe and she even said she could meet the doctor and bring him back, but she was still denied.

Even though this did not happen in a place close to home, it still makes me angry that people are being denied a right to their own health because of where they live or what ethnicity or religion they are. I am not familiar with the health care system in Jerusalem but if this had occurred in the US it would have been a huge deal. I can't imagine being denied. You just wonder what the outcome could be: did the husband live and get through his fever or did he take a turn for the worse...

Countries with the best healthcare

Healthcare isn't needed just in the United States; it is needed everywhere. It seems that many of the best healthcare system in the world are located in Europe. It doesn't really surprise me because I feel like now and days compared to our fluctuating government and economic recession, Europe has become very appealing (government wise). Many European countries healthcare system are a universal and socialized one. This seems to work for the people of the countries who utilize this way of the system.

Healthcare is just a touchy topic in any country, regardless of their political, social, religious, or cultural standing. We can only hope that as technology and discovering cures for diseases improves, that the health care will improve with it.

Affordable Health Care Act

Okay, so with the new health care reform that Obama has put into place, one of the main points is the Affordable Health Care Act. One goal of this Act is to cover everyone below the Federal Poverty Line. It helps reduce the inequalities that occur in the health care system by requiring all citizens to have medical insurance. 
From a sociological standpoint, this new act seems like a great addition to our health care system. It ensures that everybody has a fair opportunity to great doctors and the help they need, especially if they were too poor to have a personal doctor before. The one thing that seems to be missing in consideration from this law is that even though everyone has an opportunity to doctors, not everyone will still have the same level of care. The upper class will still use higher quality doctors while the lower class will have the option to use lower quality medical care. Also, the lower class doesn't always have healthy options available to them. They still will have to work in harmful conditions, eat cheaper food, and thus suffer from illnesses rather than a lack of health care. I think it is a good step in giving everybody equal opportunity, but there is more reform to be done to make sure that everyone is healthy.