Session 5
Review Chapter 3 - a historical overview , then
Focus on:
- Major factors that have shaped US health care
- the pre-industrial era
- Medical Institutions
- Health insurance
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Where we are in the 21st Century
Look at this slide show
Terms you should know:
An almshouse, or a poorhouse, was an unspecialized institution existing during the 18th and mid-19th centuries that mainly served general welfare functions, essentially providing shelter to the homeless, the insane, the elderly, orphans, and the sick who had no family to care for them.
Cost shifting occurs when losses experienced in one area of health care delivery are made up by charging more in another area. For example, shortfalls in revenues from providing charity care are made up by charging more to private payers.
Means tested: A government program is referred to as means-tested if the eligibility for benefits is determined by a person’s income level.
Medicaid is the program for providing health care to the poor through federal matching funds provided to the states based on each state's financial needs.
Medicare is the publicly financed health insurance program for the elderly and certain disabled persons.
Organized medicine refers to the concerted activities of physicians through the American Medical Association(AMA). The term has been used to distinguish collective efforts from the uncoordinated actions of individual physicians competing in the marketplace.
Part A of Medicare provides coverage for hospital care and limited nursing home care.
Part B of Medicare is government-subsidized voluntary insurance for physician services and outpatient services.
A pesthouse was operated by local governments during the 18th and mid-19th centuries to quarantine people who contracted a contagious disease such as cholera, smallpox, or typhoid. The primary function of a pesthouse was to protect the community from the spread of contagious disease; medical care was only secondary.
Title 18, or more precisely, Title XVIII of the Social Security Amendment of 1965 refers to the Medicare program.
Title 19, or more precisely, Title XIX of the Social Security Amendment of 1965 refers to the Medicaid program.
After completing this and the previous session you should be able to answer the following questions :
- What purpose is served by an understanding of the history of health care delivery?
- Which factor or factors have been predominant in shaping U.S. health care? What have been their effects?
- List the main reasons why national health insurance has not materialized in the U.S
You may test your knowledge by posting answers of not more than 75 words on the discussion forum and reviewing your peer's comments.