This article focuses on Korean health care. Increasing technology in the medical field is generally a good thing, except when it increases the inequity gap. State of the art machines are replacing existing machines, which in turn are being shipped over seas to poorer countries. The Koreans who are wealthy or have health insurance that covers the new technology procedures will benfit greatly from this. However, if patients are not able to afford the new procedures, they have no options because the old machines and procedures no longer exist.
The fact that I found most interesting is that all of the National health care plans did not cover the new procedures. This will lead to an increased visibility of classes in the health care industry. If this Korean system does not work out, it could possibly be used as a learning mechanism for other countries in the future.
The article is here http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/8/4/385?ck=nck
Video Reflection
14 years ago
2 comments:
I thought this was very interesting. Health care shouldn't be something that can essentially be bought and sold. If you think about it, the insurance companies and the health care providers are punishing the poor for being poor and unhealthy, and that's not fair. If they are going to charge more to use the new machines that's their prerogative, especially because hospitals are a function of capitalism, it seems. But if they do that, then they need to have options open that everyone can afford. People shouldn't have access to health care just because of an advance in technology that SHOULD be making it better for everyone. Why should only the rich benefit, when it's the poor and the unhealthy that need it the most?
I agree with the above post. I think there is something morally reprehensible with turning and essential service like healthcare into a business where the poorest people can be neglected because they don't have the money for advanced procedures. The Korean government should work to make the old procedures available to the people who cannot afford the new ones.
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