Chapter 14

The first thing that jumped off the page in chapter 14 was the part in the beginning when it talks about the fact that Whites' or Caucasians' actually are more likely to receive health care services at a higher level than those of a minority. It is very racist and it shouldn't be tolerated or accepted as a fact of life. Another interesting part of the chapter seemed to uncover one of the major flaws in the U.S health care structure; the millions of people who have jobs and keep their families barely above the poverty line yet cannot afford to pay for Medicaid and the middle class families who can't afford health care/insurance. One of the steps to improving U.S Health care would be filling these gaps and finding a way to get these people proper health care that can be paid for. Also,m making the payment system a simpler one might entice those who have never sought proper health care to do so. Right now paying for the care one needs comes from to many different levels. The book puts it in perspective pretty well when it says, "Most Americans pay three or four times for health care: 'we pay once through taxes, a second time through insurance premiums and co-payments, a third time through supplemental insurance, and a fourth time through the cost of products we buy.'" This is actually talking about those fortunate enough to possess adequate health insurance; so one can imagine why people like the 'working poor' are unable or uninterested in obtaining proper health care.