Aspen N502 Module 8 Discussion Question:

Aspen N502 Module 8 Discussion Question:

How should this country address the problem of the approximately 47 million uninsured or underinsured Americans?

What is society’s obligation to ensure access to a basic level of health care for all its citizens and how can it be accomplished?

Should health care be a basic individual right just as is education? Why does the United States consider health care an open market commodity when all other developed countries guarantee their citizens some basic level of health care?

The wisdom of depending on International Medical School Graduates (IMGs) to fill gaps in physician supply, while US medical schools hold class size constant, is questionable. In addition, the aging of the physician workforce, the decreasing hours worked by both physicians in practice and physicians in residency, and a 20 percent reduction in the effort of the increasing proportion of female physicians, will result in a significant decrease in the “effective” supply of physicians. Should the gap be filled by a major substitution of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and others, or are there alternatives?