A. The Cost of Health Care
The cost of medical care in the United States far exceeds that of other industrialized countries. Drawing upon Macionis’ two discussions, “Paying for Medical Care: A Global Survey” and “Paying for Medical Care: The United States,” and Rosenthal’s article “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill: Colonoscopies Explain Why U.S. Leads the World in Health Expenditures,” summarize the differences and discuss why they are so large. Do you think that our health care system should be revamped to cut down costs? Why or why not? If so, what do you suggest?
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B. The Affordable Care Act
Provide a sociologically informed account of the controversy surrounding the “Affordable Care Act.” What are the key issues? How do social factors (i.e., political ideology, race, class, sex, geographical area, etc) affect one's position in this controversy?
