Term Paper on "American Healthcare"

Term Paper 3 pages (1164 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American Health Care

Health Care Crisis or Unfounded Fears?"

What impact did the media play in bringing the health care issue onto the federal government/political agendas?

It is a common phrase, "Health care crisis" spoken almost daily by the media as well as the general public, defended against by health care interest and providers as well as many politicians, since it began to come to the forefront of the American mind during the Clinton administration. Though the questions are enduring and have been around far longer, as people began to notice on a daily basis that there was a population, rather large not being served adequately by health care. Yet, it really took the media pointing out the scope of the problem to create the phrase and develop a public idea about the situation. The media has in fact probably played the largest role in surfacing the issues surrounding health care delivery, that give many people pause, as the richest nation in the world still leaves many individuals largely un-served by the health care system of the richest nation in the world. The media, from the beginning formed an adversarial voice to drive the issue public and to ask politicians and policy makers to defend and account for the impact this has had on our culture, population and economy. The media brought to the American public scare tactics which drove the political arena to first defend the system as it is or was and second create stop gap legislation to "resolve" some of its issues. Scare tactics were largely employed by the media to bring health care to the front of the minds of those who make decisions about it, as well as the general public to pressure stakeholders into making changes that better served the population. Sweeping statements based on the situation, as it was seen by the scare tactic media like those that follow lead the charges and brought the issue to the political agenda.

The maternal mortality rate of women of color is three times that of white women. One-half to one-third of these deaths are unnecessary and could easily be avoided using preventive measures, given that they are primarily attributable to lack of prenatal care. Because they come so late to treatment, only 22% of women diagnosed with breast cancer at New York City's Harlem Hospital live five years, compared with 76% of white women and 64% of black women nationwide. A child in Chile or Malaysia is more likely to celebrate his first birthday than a black baby born in the Mississippi Delta. Black men in central Harlem are less likely to reach age 65 than men in Bangladesh. Estimates of HIV infection among homeless individuals go as high as 40%. After controlling for differences in age, sex, race and specific disease, the uninsured are as much as three times more likely to die during a hospital stay than the insured.

These statements went unquestioned by the population and created a situation where policymakers were at a distinct disadvantage, seeking to defend the system, at all costs and finally acquiescing to make changes.

What interest groups are stakeholders in this issue and what role have they played so far?

The policy makers, health care delivery giants and health insurers where quick to defend the system as it was. Saying things like:

Relax, there is no health care crisis. You can hear it from Clinton friend and foe alike. "Our country has health care problems, but no health… READ MORE

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