There were two lines in this reading that I found of particular interest. The first line stated that according to the World Health Organization, “the US healthcare system was one of the worst in developed countries in terms of death rates and reduced suffering.” For a country that stakes its claim as a country of freedom and opportunity, how can there be this little regard for it’s citizen’s health? What freedom and opportunity can their citizens claim when they are struggling to pay for doctors and medications? In all fairness, I do have to remind myself that what goes into policy making is much more complex than the picture the book presents and the way budgets are divided differs based on each country’s needs. I wish I had a greater understanding of why banks are allowed to be bailed out in our country and the poor are left alone for the most part. I wish I knew why Iceland was capable of acting as a democracy.
The second line was found all the way in the conclusion and related to the oath that doctors take to do no harm. This concept would imply that policy makers must review other effects aside from the economics and finally begin to factor in people. I also thought it was witty that the writers related it back to health that way. It was great.
The homeless people chapter was moving as well but I had a concern of how exactly new immigrants were affected by austerity. In Greece they were scapegoated but in America what happens? What health risks do they receive and what funding are they cut from? It was mentioned that first generation immigrants usually have the expected life time of the country from which they came while the children do not so how does public health policy in America impact this?
