The Frontline documentary

After viewing the Frontline documentary, Sick Around the World, answer the following questions. You may need to google some updated statistics to accurately answer questions. Since you are watching the video and answering the questions, this assignment is worth 30 points.

You may answer the following questions in numbered responses, or you can answer in paragraph/essay style. If you use any outside sources, please cite those properly. Remember, this is not about political affiliation, it is about health care.  Obviously, the healthcare industry has changed since this film – especially since COVID – however, there are still some good takeaway points to consider.

1. What does “universal health care” mean? Which countries in the film have universal health care?

2. In the United States, insurance companies can deny coverage to people who are sick or who have “pre-existing conditions,” and they can make a profit. How do these two factors impact American health care?

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 the reform.

    * Why will doctors in Germany accept less money?

    * Should the rich pay for the poor when it comes to health insurance?

6. Taiwan 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. At present, According to the CBO (Census Bureau Organization), the number of American citizens who are uninsured in 2020 is around 31 million. This number is expected to increase significantly due to the changing mindset of the population (https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/how-many-uninsured-americans/). After watching the film, do you believe that providing universal health care should be the policy of the United States? Why or why not?