TP 5 and TP 6:

IN THE USA
Study the cartoon below. What can you infer about healthcare in the USA ?
Watch the first 20 minutes of the documentary Sicko (2007) by Michael Moore and fill in
the table on page 16 in your workbook:

https://www.documentarymania.com/player.php?title=Sicko
Read the article pg 17 « Making sense of the US health care system »:

Main features of the US health care

• No universal coverage
• Both public (only 30%of the population) and private
• Fragmented fiancing
• 10.4 percent of Americans –uninsured
• High healthcare spending- 16.4 percent of their GDP (2013)
• Negative health outcomes: ranks low in infant mortality rates
and life expectancy is quite low
• Inequality
Public funded programs- (30% of the population)
• Medicare -a national social insurance program accessed by seniors of 65
and older+ some disabled people)
• Medicaid –program accessed by poor and near-poor people, managed by
individual states
• CHIP –State Based Children Health Insurance Program – some children up to
the age of 19
 Private healthcare
• Through employer
• Individual private insurance
• Insured Americans – enrolled in a managed care plan ( contracts with
health care providers and medical facilities care for members at reduced
costs)
Three types of managed care plans:

1. HMO-Health Maintenance Organizations –

• usually you only pay for care within the network
• You have a primary care doctor
• Costs less but you have fewer choices of doctors
1. PPO -Preferred Provider Organizations- they are more flexible, no primary
care doctor needed, they give you a larger pool of doctors to choose from
more expensive
2. POS -Point of Service plans let you choose between an HMO or a PPO each
time you need care.
 Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act (2010)
Main goals:
1. Expand insurance coverage
2. Improve under-insurance
3. Improve quality of health care
4. Control costs

Key feature: a mandate (2014)uninsured Americans buy some

basic form of insurance

Some state governments insurance exchanges or marketplaces

Check out this video for additional information about Obamacare:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryxbnSqN2Xo
 Weaknesses
• No universal coverage
• Fragmented fiancing
• A lot of uninsured Americans
• Ranks low in infant mortality rates and life expectancy is low
• Inequality

Strengths
• A large and well-trained workforce
• High-quality medical specialists
• Excellent healtchcare facilities
• Excellent research programs
 US health insurance key vocabulary

• Premium: The monthly fee for your insurance.

• Deductible: A deductible is a set amount you
pay each year for your healthcare before your
plan starts to share the costs of covered services.
Co-pay: Your cost for routine services to which
your deductible does not apply.
• Co-insurance: The percentage you must pay
for care after you’ve met your deductible.
• Out-of-pocket maximum: The absolute max
you’ll pay annually.
Additional videos to understand the US health care system
(optional):
PBS :Health care: America vs. the World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BytzrjEfyfA

New York Times funny video about what foreigners think about the US health system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBklyksgbco

What is an HMO?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGapUl3q9eA

VOX Medicaid, explained: why it's worse to be sick in some states than others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOo_aw-xgHQ

CNBC How French Health Care Compares To The US System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHzUCToycks
Key to the fill-in the gap exercice pg 41:
Homework for TP7

Prepare a commentary for the prescription

pg 29 in your workbook!

TP 8 written test information:

You should prepare:

1. The video clips pg 5 in your workbook

2. All the prescriptions we studied
3. Vocabulary: drug forms, body parts and
physical ailments (pg 32, pg 37-38, pg 43)
4. US health care system
5. Uk health care system