- People who have health insurance sometimes receive insufficient medical care, and are sometimes denied coverage for procedures or medicines that they need. (Sicko)
- What is good for one patient can cost society. (NYT Article)
- "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live." - Tuesdays With Morrie
- In the United States, many people are not given the correct care, and die from iatrogenic causes(Class discussion, Lucas, confirmed here and here).
The book Tuesdays With Morrie was a helpful source, because it shed light on a topic and an experience that I had previously been sheltered from. It also acknowledges why people are sheltered from death - it is hidden, tucked away in clean hospitals, where no one can see it. In the book, Morrie chooses to stay at home and get treated there, where he can have visitors and be with his wife. This reminded me of how Beth wanted Erik to be at home when he was dying. Both Morrie and Beth seemed to have healthier perspectives on the experience, and I thought maybe that was because they were seeing it happen in a place that they had spent a lot of time in. Perhaps that made death seem real, and a part of life, in a way that being in a hospital couldn't.
I think we should think about the topic of illness more. Not illness in terms of dying, and not discussing the factor of health insurance, but actually being ill. What is it like for someone to be told they have an extremely serious illness, one that they could possibly (but not necessarily) die from? To be told that if they do everything right, they might have a chance? I don't know exactly how we would explore this question (books or movies?), but it seems worth thinking about.
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