personal opinions regarding health care H e a l t h M e d i c a l

(1) Should access to health care be considered a “right” or a “privilege”? (In other words, is it something everyone is entitled to and should be provided with or something people should choose/work for/provide for if they are able)? Why?

(2) Who (individuals, government, private organizations, families, etc) do you think should be responsible for providing health care to individuals? Why?

part 2

As you read these two excerpts from Moody & Sasser (2020), focus on the following concepts:

• Longevity (myths, realities, causes)
• Normal Aging (changes due to time – what M&S refer to as “primary aging”) and Pathological Aging (changes due to illness – what M&S refer to as “secondary Aging”). In this class, will stick with the terms “normal and pathological age changes.
• Health Care Rationing (e.g., the concept, the rationale, the policies)
• Economics of Health Care

part 3

Not surprisingly, there has been a lot of response to Callahan’s proposal including an entire book (Homer & Holstein’s (1990) “A Good Old Age? The Paradox of Setting Limits which contains an “Afterward” by Callahan).

Read Bell’s (1989) response and some of the optional other responses to Callahan’s proposal, and reflect on the following:

(a) What are the arguments against Callahan’s proposal?

(b) What is your reaction/response to theses responses? Why?

part 4

Inequities in health care access and disparities in health outcomes are well documented. Select and read 1 or more of the articles in the “Health Care Disparities” module and consider the following:

• (a) What are some of the disparities noted in your selected reading?
• (b) What do the authors say (if anything) about the reasons for these disparities? What are your own thoughts on this?
• (c) What can reasonably be done to address these health disparities in older adults?

Please be sure to put the title of the article(s) you select in the subject heading of your post! Thanks!

part 5

• How are you feeling about this week’s readings?
• What, if anything, is unclear or in need of further discussion?
• What impact (if any) has this week’s discussions had on your personal opinions regarding health care in the U.S.?
• What impact (if any) has the current pandemic had on the discussions of health care rationing, health disparities, and concepts like “Coffin Dodger”, “Boomer Remover” and “Silver Tsunami”