So for one of my classes i'm supposed to write this contrasting paper about the access to healthcare services by income or class. Getting info about how the services vary by income and how the more you make bascially means the better coverage you get. What I am having problems with is finding sources to prove that it doesn't matter what you make, that you are able to have the same access as everyone else. I know that Universities and school and state workers (or at least in Washington state) that there is equal opportunity to everyone but I can't seen to find evidence to site my knowledge. Do anyone have any suggestions??

 

mmmm.......in TN, they have this thing called tn-care or something like that, its for certain groups of people that don't have health insurance.

you might just log onto the state website and see about getting info there, or go to individual hospitals websites to see what they say.

i can tell you from my very recent and ongoing experience, i don't have a job or any money and got diagnosed with cancer back in december. the hospital treated me just great, no probs at all, and didn't ask for a single dime from me while i was goinng through chemo. i am done with it all now (waiting for final results actually) and they are working it out to get most, or all the costs dismissed from me and the hospital just cover it.

as far as everyone else invloved witht this thing, oncologist, radiologist etc...i just pay them an average $50 a month, they actually asked me how much i can afford to pay each month and told them and they agreed, no probs with any of them also.

but in florida.....different story, my cousin who had problems while pregnant and had no health insurance had all sorts of trouble finding anyone to even see her about it (even though she was physically in pain) finally a trip to emergency room she had to do just for someone to examine her.

and after this and that with her and she had the baby, she had to file bakruptcy because of all the creditors coming after her with a vengence because of the costs of the health care.

 

Try the word Medicaid in google.

I know county hospitals in the US are supposed to help everyone if they need it.

 

Ever heard of "P.O.T.S."?
(Plain Old Telephone System)

Cal around asking for healthcare info to whatever agencies you find, and take lots of notes about whatever they tell you. Then base a websearch on THAT.

Keep in mind now - DESPERATE people will most likely NOT have web access. You have an advantage. But that is how the system is probably set up - for non-webaccess people.

Why would someone who can't afford groceries have a $1,000+ computer system?

Do that groundwork from the grassroots level.

The mid-level resources you might still be able to get info on by explaining that it is a school project on the front end.

Other suggested web-searches:

HUMANA
TRICARE
BLUECROSS
MEDICAID (as opposed to "MEDICARE")
AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
VA (Veterans Administration)
Social Security Administration (ssa.gov)
Surgeon General
Health and Welfare
Relief Organisations

 

i pay 500 bucks a month for health ins. my neighbor pays nothing as they are on welfare and it's FREE!!

 

thanks for all the help!

 

cass,
A Google search will bring up thousands if not millions of hits and you'll be wading around forever with these links. A lot of the most promising links will lead you to great studies/statistics but the catch is you have to pay for the report. What you need is factual data gleaned from these reports and published elsewhere. Here's my suggestion about where to find this kind of data. Go to the websites of various senators or congressmen who actively support health care reform. You will find lots of of the kind of data you are looking for. Be aware the data may be skewed to fit a particular political ideology and therefore data on a particular topic may seem to conflict. This could also be a good thing to point out in your paper as it shows you put some time and thought into the research. Another source is the NIH (National Institute of Health) but their data is reams of charts and graphs that is almost undecipherable to the average person. I can feel for you. My daughter is trying finish up several papers as well.

On edit: Another thought is to go directly to the horse's mouth for your info. Call you local hospital and ask to meet with their public relations officer. These people are genuinely friendly and helpful and would dearly love to have the opportunity to show you first hand, what hospitals are up against in terms of providing indigent care and meeting all the various state and federal regulations. They will also be a great reference source and will have access to the kind of statistics you are seeking. This could be a one stop shopping for all your paper's needs. I've worked with hospitals for years and know they would be glad to help you. Give them a call.

 

tn-care is kaputt.

 

they dumped alot of people off Tenn-Care here

 

yea, tell me about it, i didn't go into specifics about tn-care, but yes, its a dead program.

 

cass what course is this? high school or college?

if you need sources go to the library. ask them for a tour of the academic research where you can read the abstracts of different papers and cherry pick the ones that support your argument.

i think the subject would be "Medical policy -- United States." and "medical economics - united states". once you start digging around in there you'll get to the heart of the academic debate surrounding the issue.

far as the argument is concerned, it seems to me that health coverage is not related to income, but what kind of insurance you have, which is not always a corollary of having more money, as hawk pointed out.

rather your coverage depends on two factors. whether you are rich enough to buy your private insurance, or poor enough to qualify for public insurance.

if some welfare people get better health coverage in america than working people that can't afford insurance, then this statement

is false.

there's not really a direct correlation between $ and health, but a V-shaped curve with a big trough of working poor at the bottom, a bunch of welfare bums to the left of them who enjoy good public insurance, and to the right, people with more means who can afford better private insurance.

 

There is also no correlation between the amount of health care services received and outcome. Conventional wisdom is that rich people get more services and therefore better care. A recent study compared the outcomes of middle aged Caucasians receiving health care in the United States and England. The finding was, no matter what the social or economic status, age or gender, the English had significantly better outcomes (i.e. they improved faster, were less sick, had fewer complications, etc.) than their American counterpart. This was across the board and the richest Americans still had worse outcomes than the poorest Brit. This was a shocker to many in the American health care system because we spend twice as many dollars per person than the English and still have worse care in the end.

 

illinois has a program called

WIC for women and children

 

its for college...management in business and society (mgmt 423). thanks again for all the help