1. Development of Insurance
The developement of insurance can date back to Ancient times. Even though it is unclear how the idea of insurance got started, it was definitly something that had been happening for many years. "...historians generally trace its development back to ancient babylonian traders who feared that their shipments across the desert might fall prey to bandits, dust storms, or camels with shoddy knees." (Page 5, Sick)These traders needed a method to cover the loss in case its shipment became lost or destroyed. They ended up creating a 'fund' to cover these losses. This idea developed further into financial support and, "Eventually companies dedicated exclusively to providing insurance came into existence." (Pg. 5, Sick) And, eventually, using insurance to cover costs for the ill came into existence in the 20th century.
As the use of insurance became more common, the system itself created problems over time. "We devote about 17 percent of our gross domestic product to health care, far more than any other developed nation...ours does not guarantee every other wealthy industrialized democracy, ours does not guarantee health insurance. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 45 million of us lack coverage." (Page 65, Landmark) Also, in the film 'Sicko,' Michael Moore discusses the issues and flaws within the U.S. health care system. Many Americans do not have health insurance for ridiculous reasons that makes us question how selfish the system is. Profit is more valued then the will to support as many sick people as possible. Moore brings up about the many reasons people are denied. There is no universal health care in the U.S. and ironically, many Americans are dissatisfied because it is clearly unfair.
2. The Culture of Hospitals
"In the United States during the twentieth century, death moved out of the home and into medical institutions. Today, more Americans die in hospitals than anywhere else, and the most frequent response to critical illness there is to try to starve off death with the most sophisticated technological means available." (Page 25, And a Time to Die) Hospitals have become the dominant practices revolving around illness and dying. However, do people realize the contradictions and culture-like actions within hospitals? "The contemporary hospital, with its remarkable tools and complicated ways of organizing health professionals work and moving patients and families through the system, is on the cutting edge of culture-making. Its system, techniques, and logic shape the forms of dying that occur there." (Page 28, And a Time to Die) When giving the idea of hospitals a second thought, it feels a bit strange that hospitals are indeed shaping our culture when dealing with death.
The culture of hospitals are also illustrated from the film, 'Near Death.' Ill patients are kept on white beds in white surroundings. Doctors are in white clothing and check in with the patients. While patients and their families should make decisions about their sickness and nearing death, they are given choices to decide upon by the hospitals 'rules.' It is a culture in itself because of the rules set by the hospital, and the common all-white setting. Tubes and machinery are used to give the patient more time to continue living.
3. Isoloation of the Sick
Today, people have a natural tendency to make themselves look better than others by society's standards and to feel bad when they are seen as the ousider of the stero-type of what we believe to be 'normal' from a person. "He posses a stigma, an undesired differentness from what we had aniticipated." (Page 5, Stigma) Unfortunantly, one major group of people who are stigmatized are those who are severly ill. This leads to isolation and feeling 'not normal' and as though they are unhuman. Even for those who are cured of that illness, they continue to live with the label of the person who had experienced that disease. "Where such repair is possible, what often results is not he acquisition of fully normal status, but a transformation of self from someone with a particular blemish into someone with a record of having a corrected a particular blemish. In other words, those who experience an illness or disability are labeled with that name, instead of as a normal individual as everyone else.
The isolation of the sick is also revealed within hospital grounds. "The institutional response to these cutbacks has been for nursing homes to transfer dying patients to hospitals to avoid the cost of intensive treatments, and for hospitals to discharge patients, once they are labeled "dying," so as not to incur the cost of palliative care. Simply put, at this point in history, dying people are not wanted in medical institutions, and it shows." (Page 29, And a Time to Die) Sick people are looked down upon by 'stigmas' and are also unwanted by hospitals and institutions to avoid costly care.
Source Citations:
*Cohn, Jonathan. 'Sick'. Harper Collins. Ny. 2007.
*Goffman, Erving. 'STIGMA: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity'. Prentice Hall. NJ. 1963.
*Kaufman, Sharon R. 'And A Time to Die: How American Hospitals shape the End of Life'. Simon & Schuster. New York. 2005
*Michael Moore. 'Sicko'. (Film). 2007.
*'Near Death'. (Film)
*Staff of Washington Post. 'Landmark'. Public Affairs. New York. 2010.
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