Socialized Medicine in the Soviet Union
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In 1917, a bloody revolution in Russia resulted in the formation of the Soviet Union. In the socialist society that Lenin established at that time, the state was given complete control over all aspects of life. This totalitarian control was extended to the fields of medicine and public health. Lenin "condemned" the idea of doctors practicing medicine for profit (Ryan, 1989, 92). On this basis, all doctors were ordered to quit their private practices and to work directly for the Soviet government. By the 1920's, "the private practice of medicine was suppressed to an almost irreducible level" (Ryan, 1989, p. 93). In contrast to the development of the medical profession in the United States and Europe, doctors in the Soviet Union were subjected to both low prestige and low pay. The situation remained this way until the mid-1980's and the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev introduced such reforms as perestroika (the restructuring of both government and society, as well as the relationship between the two) and glasnost (openness, or freedom of speech). Out of these reforms, a "cooperative movement" arose within the Soviet Union. Many industries and service professions began running their own private enterprises, free from government control. Among these new enterprises were the medical cooperatives which began appearing in Soviet cities in late 1987. Soon after they were introduced to Soviet society, hundreds of medical cooperatives were established throughout t
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uted by Gorbachev. Before Gorbachev, people were not even allowed to talk openly about the problems in the state health care system. With glasnost, however, people were able to not only talk about the problems, but to take steps toward solving them as well. Soon after Gorbachev took office, a debate arose in the Soviet Council of Ministers regarding the idea of "fee-charging" for medical services (Ryan, 1989, p. 102). During 1987, sessions of the Communist Party's Central Committee began focusing on the idea of cooperatives in general. It was realized that cooperatives were an important step toward reducing the power of the centralized government and thereby giving the Soviet people more control over their own lives. Regarding his "restructuring" reforms, Gorbachev claimed: "We are moving toward people's rule, we are including the working person in all economic and social processes" ("Gorbachev Answers Critics...", 1989, p. 12). During these government debates, many proposals were made regarding the ways in which public health care in the Soviet Union could also be improved ("In the Politburo...", 1987, p. 19). Gorbachev spoke harshly about "mismanagement" in the medical field, and urged his ministers to begin developing
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 5972
Approximate Pages = 24 (250 words per page)
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