Unit+2+-+Health+Care

As you embark on this unit, I want you to keep the following question in mind:

//Is health care a fundamental right of American citizens? What duty should the US Government have in securing health care for its citizens?//

Class #1 - Background on the issue In this class period, you'll be looking at some background information on the issue of health care. You will begin by reading pg. 14-15 of the Chronic Disease Report. (To find this article, click on the following [|link.] Then, click on "Lesson One" and the click on "An Unhealthy America".) As you read this, keep in mind the following questions:


 * What do you think is causing the rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes to rise in the US?
 * According to the statistics listed here, what is the economic impact of lowering obesity rates and making modest improvements in chronic disease prevention?
 * What do you think will prevent the growth of chronic disease rates?
 * How do you think the growing rates of chronic diseases are affecting the current health care system?

In looking at this article, what kind of "preventative" measures could individual citizens take to prevent the aforementioned chronic conditions from taking place? What role could or should the government have in causing citizens to take such action?

After you are done with this, I want you to read "The Right to Health Care and the Role of Government in Health Care Policy." Pay particular attention to Section 1 as you read this.



Class #2 - Health Insurance Overview To begin, I want you to finish reading "The Right to Health Care and the Role of Government in Health Care Policy." Once you have finished with that, we'll begin looking at the issue of health insurance. First, we'll need to define the following terms so that we know what we (and others that we read about) are talking about. Those terms are:

Universal Health Insurance Co-Payment Medicare Cost Sharing Medicaid Deductible Managed Care Employer Sponsored Coverage Health Savings Account Preventative Care Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Fee-for-Service Plan Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Private Care COBRA Mandated Employer Insurance Co-Insurance Primary Care Provider Premium Subsidized Health Insurance Uninsured Single-payer System Underinsured Third-party Payer

The following links: [|How We Are Insured], and [|The US versus Other Nations], will be helpful in answering this portion.

Last, you will be looking at a fictional, although realistic, example of one person's story with insurance. Read the following document and answer the questions that follow:



Class #3 - Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege For this lesson, you will use the pdf file that is at the bottom of this section and complete each of the seven activities listed on that sheet with the following modifications:

Task #1 - All that you need to do is define the difference between a right and a privilege. Give a few examples of each in the context of the rights/privileges that US citizens have.

Task #2 - Answer the following question: "Is health care a right or a privilege?"

Task #3 - No modifications

Task #4 - No modifications

Task #5 - No modifications (Note: The "Regulating Health" handout begins on page 2 of the pdf)

Task #6 - No modifications - please read both articles. (Note: The "Health Care Reform" article begins on page 4 of the pdf)

Task #7 - Develop your own plan for health care reform



Class #4 - Evaluating Presidential Campaign Proposals from 2008 During this lesson, you be looking at Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain's health care proposals during the 2008 election. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Obviously, where it says to divide into groups, you'll be looking all of the various viewpoints, not just one.



Class #5 - Debate! For this class, you'll be preparing your arguments as if you were going to debate whether or not health care is a fundamental right of Americans. Use the following guide to help you out...