Describe the model you are supporting to best control costs without compromising the quality and access to health care, and explain how the model works.

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The U.S. Health Care Economy

Deliverable Length:  3-5 pages

Assignment Details

Reducing the Price of Health Care

The focus in health care reform is cost control in light of annual double-digit inflation since the late 1990s and the consumption of nearly 17% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 (more than any other country in the world). The debate is over how to reduce the rate of spending for health care while preserving quality and access to care for patients. Research at least 2 methods of reducing the percentage of the GDP spent on health care. You will need to be able to describe how you would do this in specific terms. This can be a number of approaches, such as the following:

  • Completely dismantle the current system and start over—A monumental task
  • Revise the current payment system to reflect current economic constraints
  • Cut Medicare and Medicaid
  • Insurance reform
  • National health insurance based on the Massachusetts Model
  • Malpractice reform
  • Legislation such as the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, the Affordable Care Act (2010), and others

Provide the following elements in your paper:

  • Describe the model you are supporting to best control costs without compromising the quality and access to health care, and explain how the model works.
  • Analyze the method that you are supporting, detailing the strengths and weaknesses from all stakeholder group (e.g., patient, provider, and third-party payer) perspectives.
  • Provide an example of the model in real time or as a scenario.
  • Summarize the anticipated results in terms of costs and benefits.

WRITE ABOUT ONE OF THE COURSE TOPICS WE HAVE DISCUSSED IN CLASS (see the list below). 

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Make sure to look through the entire document and read the instructions carefully.

TEST: WRITE ABOUT ONE OF THE COURSE TOPICS WE HAVE DISCUSSED IN CLASS (see the list below).

The point of your essay is to summarize key concepts (and writers’ contributions) for the categories of critical theory we have studied thus far. You should summarize the key points from the Malpas and Wake book chapter and then link that information to the content of specific essays we discussed in class. This test is intended to provide the opportunity to reflect on how well you have assimilated the material. You should, therefore, focus on synthesizing your ideas and analyzing the material rather than compiling an encyclopedic list of random facts—or new research you conducted on the internet. Please make sure to organize your comments within paragraphs and include an introduction and conclusion.

Your essay should be TWO-TO-THREE pages of typed, double-spaced text (12-pt. font). If you include direct quotes from the reading, please use quotation marks and cite your source using MLA style (in text citations are fine for this assignment). You may use your notes and books/essays to answer the questions. You may also refer to information in the Malpas and Wake introduction (pp. 3-11) to help you structure your comments.

Possible topics for your essay (write about only ONE topic, ONE textbook chapter and ONE essay in the list):

1.Structuralism and Semiotics 

Simon Malpas and Paul Wake, Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory [hereafter Malpas and Wake], pp. 12-22.

De Saussure, Ferdinand, sections from “General Principles” in Course in General Linguistics, pp. 65-78 (archive.org).

Roland Barthes, “Myth Today” in Mythologies (New York: The Noonday Press, 1990), pp. 109-159. [Blackboard]

2. Marxism, the Frankfurt School and its Legacy 

Malpas and Wake, pp. 37-50 (on Marxism)

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” in The Dialectics of Enlightenment (1944)

3. Feminism  

Malpas and Wake, pp. 96-106.

Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Screen v. 16, no. 3 (Autumn 1975): 6-18. [for grads]

Jennifer Stuller, “Second Wave Feminism in the Pages of Lois Lane,” in Critical Approaches to Comics (2012), pp. 235-251. [for undergrads]

4. Gender and Queer Theory

Malpas and Wake, pp. 107-119

Judith Butler, “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, ed. by Henry Abelove et al. London: Routledge, 1993. [for grads]

Gareth Schott, “From Fan Appropriation to Industry Re-Appropriation: The Sexual Identity of Comic Superheroes,” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, v. 1, no. 1 (June 2010): 17-29. [for undergrads]

5. Race and Postcoloniality

Malpas and Wake, pp. 131-143

Aja Martinez, “Critical Race Theory: Its Origins, history, and Importance to the Discourses and Rhetorics of Race,” Frame, Journal of Literary Studies 27, 2 (November 2014): 9-27.

John D. Miles, “The Postindian Rhetoric of Gerald Vizenor,” CCC [College Composition and Communication] 63, 1 (Sept. 2011): 35-53.

Jessie Whitehead, “Invisibility of Blackness: Visual Response of Kerry James Marshall,” Art Education (March 2009): 33-39.

What impact do these gender codes have on regular people as they take photos of themselves? Explain differences between males and females.

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  1. Choose a mall, either Irvine Spectrum, South Coast Plaza, or a mall close to your home (include name and address-must be a large mall). Walk through the mall observing masculine and feminine gender differences.  Ask yourself if the gender codes are rigid or loose? What are the gender codes at different stores? Visit at least 10 stores observing display windows, staff, products, visuals, music, shoppers, etc.  Do not take notes while in a store. ONLY OBSERVE INSIDE AND WRITE DOWN OBSERVATIONS AFTER EXITING THE STORE TO REDUCE CONFLICT.
  2. Find a bookstore, grocery store, drug store, or Target to review the magazine section. Choose one male-focused magazine and one female-focused magazine (include name and issue-you do not have to purchase it, but you must be able to refer to specific content). Ask yourself if the gender codes are rigid or loose in the magazine? Are the codes in the male-focused magazine the same as the codes in the female-focused magazine? What are the different visuals being used to code gendered messages?  Take notes.
  3. Go to 3 of your social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, kik, tinder, yik yak, etc. Review the photos of 2 male and 2 female friends/associates/people. If you don’t have 3 sites, go to one and look at 2 male and 2 female friends/associates/people. Reflect on the documentaries that you have watched. Ask yourself if the gender codes discussed in the documentary are reflected in their photos? What are the different visuals being used to code gendered messages?  How have the men and women been impacted by media in your opinion, if at all? Take notes.

Type a 2-page, double spaced essay with no name or date. Use all the paper for writing. Answer these questions using the analytical notes from your field trip.

  1. What impact do these gender codes have on shoppers? Explain differences between males and females if any.
  2. What impact does do these gender codes have on readers? Explain differences between males and females if any.
  3. What impact do these gender codes have on regular people as they take photos of themselves? Explain differences between males and females.
  4. Is gender power? If not, what is it? If it is, why don’t we talk about gender in this way—as power?

Working With Immigrants and Refugees: The Case of Aaron

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Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W. J., Castaneda, C., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., & Zuniga, X. (Eds.). (2013). Readings for diversity and social justice. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Press.

Chapter 8, (pp. 65–68)

Chapter 21, (pp. 125–126)

Chapter 22, (pp. 127–133)

Chapter 24, (pp. 135–139)

Plummer, S. B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Walden International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-Reader].

“Working With Immigrants and Refugees: The Case of Aaron”

Working With Immigrants and Refugees: The Case of Aaron

Aaron is a 24-year-old, unmarried, heterosexual, Caribbean immigrant male who is experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Aaron reports no history of mental health treatment nor any medical or legal problems. He admits to social drinking but denies use of illegal substances. He lives alone in a room he rents above the restaurant where he works. He works 24 hours a week as a waiter, has few friends, and is a part-time student at a local university where he is working on an undergraduate degree in biology. Aaron came to speak with me, a university counselor, because he is having difficulty concentrating and finding the motivation to study. Aaron denied any thoughts or plans of suicide or homicide and stated he felt hopeless and nervous.

In the first session, Aaron struggled with sustaining eye contact, presented as preoccupied, and was indifferent to the attempts to engage him in the intake process. When asked what he thought precipitated counseling, Aaron said that he had a difficult relationship with his parents who, he stated, “are not supportive and could care less” about him. He also reported that his younger brother was killed not long ago. When asked what he wanted to work on in counseling, he said that he wanted to address why his family was so “messed up.” Subsequent sessions explored Aaron’s perspective on his family, the strained relationship between Aaron and his parents, and the loss of his sibling.

During one session, Aaron said his parents had always favored his younger brother and overlooked his criminal involvement, which had been a source of conflict between Aaron and his parents for years. While it had not been confirmed, Aaron suspected his brother’s death was related to gang involvement. Aaron shared that his academic interests and achievement had been ignored by his parents and had never been a source of interest for them.

In a subsequent session, Aaron stated that he had always felt disconnected and different from his parents and brother. Aaron’s family immigrated to the United States from Guyana when Aaron was 8 years old and his brother was 2 years old. His parents brought only his brother and left Aaron with his grandmother, informing him they would bring him over when they were settled. Seven years later, at the age of 15, he joined his family. Aaron reported that reuniting with his family after all that time was difficult. Aaron had always felt rejected by his parents because they did not bring him to the United States with his brother. He experienced a void in his relationship with his parents and his brother, and he felt there was an unspoken alliance between his parents and his younger brother that he did not share. Aaron said that he was often made fun of by them for not losing his accent and for his use of their culture’s traditions and customs. They also ridiculed him for being homesick and missing his grandmother. He said that his parents rarely attended the West Indian activities he participated in, and when they did, they spent more time critiquing his performance than enjoying it.

In the following sessions, Aaron was encouraged to tell the story of his family and how the immigration process disrupted their connections with one another and how this may have affected their ability to grieve together as they faced the death of his brother. Using genograms and having Aaron educate me about his country, I was better able to understand his family’s immigration history and the roles played by extended family members. This approach allowed Aaron to talk more about how and when his anxiety and depression manifested. Later I learned that these symptoms had always been mildly present but became more acute after the death of his brother. Aaron grieved the loss of a brother and examined his feelings of loss around his relationship with parents who were both limited in their ability to include him in their own grieving processes.

After several sessions, Aaron was able to talk more openly about his frustration and disappointment with his family and identify the losses they had all incurred. He allowed himself the opportunity to grieve his brother and the lack of relationship with his parents and began to consider the possibility of a new relationship with them. Aaron reported a reduction in his feelings of anxiety and depression and resumed interest in his academic work. Aaron and I discussed termination at the end of the semester with a recommendation that he continue with individual therapy in the summer months