Grant Voytovich-Blog 4

Grant Voytovich

POLS 170

Blog Four

4/19/2022


The reading titled “Silenced Voices in Global Health” by Katri Bertram, Ngozi Erondu,  and Madhukar Pai talks about the inequalities present in the global health care system.  They said that global health care is led primarily by “white, elite men.”  Additionally, the reach of global health care is a lot smaller than it should be.  This sounds exactly like what we’ve been talking about in my sociology class.  One of our readings that deals with this concept is titled “Privilege” by Shamus Khan.  Khan attended one of the most prestigious private high schools in the country called St. Paul’s School, and noticed a difference in his high school experience compared to other people.  He went back to St. Paul’s and observed everything about the school.  Khan found that the school was comprised of students coming from “elite” and privileged backgrounds, which makes sense because the school costs around 65,000 dollars per year to attend.  This number alone eliminates a significant portion of the population from being able to attend the school.  So, I think that the global health care system could be like St. Paul’s School; it might just be too expensive for a lot of families.  

The United States of America spends more money on health care than any other country in the world as of 2020, and yet they still don’t see the benefits that other countries do.  This could be because of how expensive health care is in America.  According to the website Med City News, “A staggering 46 million people — nearly one-fifth of all Americans — cannot afford necessary healthcare services, according to a new survey.  Conducted by West Health and Gallup, the survey polled 3,753 U.S. adults from Feb. 15-21.” (Vaidya)  The article also states this about different groups of people being able to afford healthcare, “About 18% said that they would not. That figure jumped to 29% for Black Americans and 21% for Hispanic adults. Only 16% of white adults also answered in the negative.” (Vaiya)  So, clearly there is a gap in accessibility to health care for different races in the United States.  They also stated that 18% of the people who responded to the survey had someone in their family skip care that they needed.  So, accessibility to health care is a big problem in our country and other countries today.  One of the biggest reasons why is because of the price.  Only a certain household can afford healthcare, which is why it is dominated by the white elite.  So, if healthcare became more affordable, we might see more of a diverse group with access to it.  But, it might not be possible to make health care cheaper for certain nations, so this is all easier said than done.


Vaidya, Anuja. “Survey: 1 in 5 Americans Can't Afford Necessary Care.” MedCity News, 1 Apr. 2021, https://medcitynews.com/2021/04/survey-1-in-5-americans-cant-afford-necessary-care/#:~:text=A%20staggering%2046%20million%20people,15%2D21.

Comments

  1. Kameron SchrefflerApril 25, 2022 at 10:44 AM

    Overall I think your blog post is great. I like how you connected this writing to another class. How do you believe we can improve our healthcare system? Do you believe universal healthcare could be the answer? Or do you believe in another solution?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grant VoytovichApril 28, 2022 at 5:36 AM

      I think that's a very important question. I think that universal healthcare will be difficult to maintain, but I think it could be very beneficial for many people. Universal healthcare would standardize access to medicine and make it cheaper for everyone.

      Delete
  2. CiaraApril 25, 2022 at 2:52 PM

    Grant, I think the points you bring up are very important and the way you connected it back to your sociology class was interesting. Many times people disregard that different groups of people are at a disadvantage from the start. People born into a wealthy elite family are more privileged and have access to so many more opportunities than those who are not. I think this is exactly what the article talked about as we need to be more representative of the global population as opposed to those who already find themselves in high rank from the moment they were born. I think the example from your class is one that is very recognizable in society. Kids that go to private school have a stigma surrounding them as they are able to afford such an exclusive, expensive education. It goes to show how these kids also attend good colleges, have good connections in the future, and likely will turn out in the same privileged manner they started.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grant VoytovichApril 28, 2022 at 5:37 AM

      Thank you. Like you said, those who are born into the "elite" class have access to more resources than those who aren't. They are more likely to attend college, and get a college degree.

      Delete

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