Assignment: Healthcare Documentary Analysis
The objective of this assignment is to expose students to various sides of the healthcare debate by analyzing market-based vs. socialized medicine vs. single payer healthcare systems.
We started the course with thinking about allocation of healthcare resources/scarcity and completed a simple exercise, where students were asked to allocated hours of dialysis machine treatment.
This assignment is asking you to revisit the topic of resource allocation in healthcare on a level of a country and to analyze the pros and cons of resource allocation in healthcare when using 1) first-come-first served and 2) government rationing, or a combination of both vs market-based allocation (willingness to pay).
The movies below look at a number of countries where medicine is socialized (gov. owns the means of production), and single payer (gov. is the sole insurer, but does not own the means of production).
Movie 1: "WaitTill It's Free" (Free Market Perspective)
Summary: Christian filmmaker Colin Gunn challenges the perceived notion of the free market being responsible for the high prices in healthcare, revealing government intervention as the actual ailment. Wait Till It's Free examines the history, ramifications, and practical alternatives to government-directed healthcare.
Movie 2: "Sicko" (Socialized Medicine Perspective)
Summary: The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S. system with the non-profit universal health care systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba.
Movie 3: "Fix It: Healthcare at the Tipping Point,"2016(Single Payer Perspective)
Summary: The movie advocates for the single payer model supported by the Physicians for National Healthcare Program. Students should already by familiar with this documentary from prior assignment.
Watch all three documentaries.
Based on the documentaries, answer the questions below. You can work directly in this file.
1) What is the difference between socialized medicine and single payer system?
2) What methods of allocation of healthcare are the most prevalent (first-come-first served, rationing, or based on willingness to pay) in countries with socialized medicine and single payer system?
3) List the countries that use socialized medicine:
4) In comparison to market-based healthcare system, what are the advantages of socialized medicine? Organize your response using the table below:
Advantages of Socialized Medicine Detailed Description of the supporting information
(Country, scenario)
Where found in the movie:
(Movie, time)
5) In comparison to market-based healthcare system, what are the disadvantages of socialized medicine?
Disadvantages of Socialized Medicine Detailed description of the supporting information
(Country, scenario) Where found in the movie:
(Movie, time)
6) List the countries that use single payer health care system:
7) In comparison to market-based healthcare system, what are the advantages of single payer system?
Advantages of Single Payer Detailed Description of the supporting information
(Country, scenario)
Where found in the movie:
(Movie, time)
8) In comparison to market-based healthcare system, what are the disadvantages of the single payer?
Disadvantages of Single Payer Detailed Description of the supporting information
(Country, scenario)
Where found in the movie:
(Movie, time).