Watch the video and answer the questions
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Sick around the World Discussion Questions
1.What does “universal health care” mean? Which countries in the film have universal health care?
2.In the United States before 2008, insurance companies could deny coverage to people who are sick or who have “pre-existing conditions,” and the amount of profit they could make was unlimited. How did these two factors impact American health care?
2b.The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (also known as Obamacare) made it illegal to deny people coverage for pre-existing conditions, and required medical plans to spend 80% of premiums directly on medical costs. Based on what you’ve seen in the film, what do you think of these changes to the American healthcare system?
3.How do the British pay for their National Health Service? What, according to the film, might Americans not like about the British system?
4.Japanese citizens visit doctors three times as often as Americans, and have longer life spans and lower infant mortality than Americans. How do the Japanese pay for their health care system?
5.In Germany, the rich pay for the poor, the ill are covered by the healthy, health insurance continues with or without employment, and doctors, who are private entrepreneurs, make less money than they did before reform.
Why will doctors in Germany accept less money?
Should the rich pay for the poor when it comes to health insurance?
6Taiwan designed its health care system in 1995, after looking at health care in 10-15 other countries.
What do you think works well in the Taiwanese system?
How is Taiwan struggling to balance the hopes of patients, the needs of doctors and the cost of treatment?
7.Until 1994, Switzerland linked health insurance to employment; if you lost your job, you lost your insurance. But after the Swiss voted in a new system called LAMal, everyone had to buy health insurance, and insurance companies could not make a profit. Why were the Swiss willing to make this change? Why have people become more supportive of LAMal as time has progressed?
8.When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010, approximately 46.5 million Americans were without health insurance. After the ACA was enacted, the number of uninsured people fell to just under 26.7 million in 2016. Since 2016, the number of people without health insurance began to increase, to 27.9 million in 2018. What are some concerns about the rising rates of uninsured people? After watching the film, do you believe that providing universal health care should be the policy of the United States? Why or why not?
Sample Solution
