Rationing of Medical Care in the U.S.

Patrick & Erickson (1993) state the problem in socioeconomic terms: "Although geographical, cultural, and educational barriers limit access to care, financial barriers dominate. Poor people, near-poor people, and persons with chronic illness--especially those without public or private insurance--find it difficult to obtain health care services (p. 333). Instead of offering blanket coverage on the basis of citizenship, "the United States offers access to health services mainly on the basis of age, income, and employment" (Fox, 1993, p. 78).

The problem of lack of health care coverage is especially apparent in view of the fact that "the United States is the only industrialized country other than South America in which the public (government-financed) sector of health care is less than 60 percent . . . health care is, in fact, a very big business--the nation's third largest industry" (Reagan, 1992, p. 14).

American medical care is the most technologically advanced in the world, yet we are not necessarily the healthiest as a result. Because medical care is rationed in the U.S., with the best care going to tho

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ups simply do not get the same quality of medical treatment as do those in higher socioeconomic groups. Such a statement appears self-evident today, but it was a major leap from the ivory tower of its day. Conflict theorists say that people of all societies prefer health to illness. Yet some people achieve better health than others because of their access to those resources that contribute to good health and recovery, should they become ill. These inequities are embedded in the social stratification system. However, Americans should resist the notion of stratification of health care because of our belief that there should be "liberty and justice for all," if we stretch the meaning of "liberty" to include "freedom from illness." To return to the functionalist argument with regard to health for a moment (specifically, Parson's)--that illness must be socially controlled lest it impair societal functioning--it would seem that treating the greatest number of people, in the most medically sound manner, would insure the smoothest functioning society. We do not treat the greatest possible number of people, however. Because Parsons did not adequately concern himself with existing power structures, he failed to recognize that some
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Public Health, Mills Parsons, Sociological Imagination, South America, Health Statistics, Patrick Erickson, Imagination Mills, Talcott Parsons, Vander Zanden, Wright Mills, health care, medical care, sociological imagination, care system, health care system, health insurance, university press, power elite, reagan 1992, middle class, oxford university, oxford university press, macionis 1989 264, access health care, cited macionis 1989,
Approximate Word count = 2643
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)