The Big Picture
This global event highlighted significant inequities within the U.S. health care infrastructure starting in 2020–2023.
What is the COVID-19 pandemic?
The introduction of healthcare programs in the 1900s was the most significant change to the U.S. system until this law was passed in 2010
What is the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?
While most Americans are angry at the "health care system" as a whole, more than 90 percent report being very happy with this specific person in their medical life.
Who is their own physician/PCP?
This term, coined by Arnold Relman in 1980, describes the huge and rapidly growing industry that provides health care services specifically for profit
What is the medical-industrial complex?
These diseases are often manageable, but they are resource intensive. 86% health care dollars are spent on these types of diseases. These include diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, etc.
What are chronic diseases?
While many countries have public health systems, the U.S. system is largely unique among wealthy nations because it is grounded in this motive.
What is profit making?
This public program provides health coverage for low-income individuals and families.
What is Medicaid?
For the last 30 years, satisfaction with health care systems has been higher in these types of countries than in the U.S.
What are other high-income (or wealthy) nations?
This general approach was developed to control rapidly increasing health care costs by overseeing how services are used.
What is managed care?
This life saving drug costs just $21 in Canada, but $450 in the US– typically used to treat Type 1 Diabetes.
What is insulin?
This term refers to the overall organization of facilities, programs, and services through which a country makes health care available to its people.
What is a health care system?
This public program was created in the 1960s to provide health insurance specifically for the elderly.
What is Medicare?
In 2021, about 16 percent of Americans used this strong word to describe the current state of the U.S. health care system.
What is a "crisis"?
These specific organizations (known as HMOs) are a well-known example of the managed care approach.
What are Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)?
Nickname for "a global force dominated by several huge multinational companies often referred to as [blank]". Companies include (Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, and Merck & Company)
What is "Big Pharma"?
Although the U.S. ranks low in access and equity, it is globally recognized for being a leader in this area of medical advancement.
What is the process of care?
This program (known by a four-letter acronym) provides health insurance to children in families that earn too much for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance.
What is CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program)?
This percentage of Americans reported being dissatisfied with the high cost of their medical care in 2021.
What is 77 percent?
This term describes the practice of doctors ordering extra, sometimes unnecessary, tests primarily to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits.
What is defensive medicine?
Martin Shkreli, a 32-year–old former hedge fund manager, nicknamed “Pharma Bro” hiked this drug to 5000% the original price. This drug named Daraprim helped treat parasitic infections caused by this disease.
What is AIDS?
When comparing the U.S. to 10 other wealthy nations, this nonpartisan foundation has consistently ranked the U.S. last in overall performance.
What is The Commonwealth Fund?
This term describes a system where a single public agency handles health care financing, while the actual delivery of care remains private.
What is a single-payer approach?
According to a 2021 Gallup Poll, this very small percentage of Americans believed the U.S. health care system had "no problems" at all.
What is 3 percent?
Sociologists use this specific term to describe the $70 billion annual problem of providers overbilling or performing unnecessary procedures to "bilk" programs like Medicaid.
What is medical fraud?
This major Christian craft chain, challenged contraceptive insurance coverage requirements– objecting to methods that prevent implantation of a fertilized egg.
What is Hobby Lobby?