Blog 10: April: Global Healthcare Worker Appreciation Month

This year April is devoted to international healthcare workers. These recruits work in under developed and developing countries where healthcare workers are scarce. They teach communities basic means of staying healthy like good hygiene, disease and virus prevention, and post natal care. Healthcare workers also provide immunizations and simple treatments. The workers are very dedicated to helping people in these villages; many travel a long distance by foot or bike to reach the villages. One man leaves his home open 24/7 to the people of his village to take care of their medical needs. The World Health Organization stated that 57 countries are in terrible need of more healthcare workers. Many healthcare workers have put their lives in danger working is Syria while countless workers have lost their lives taking care of sick and injured civilians and oppositions fighters.

The World Healthcare Organization is working this month to show appreciation, awareness, and the importance of the healthcare workers. These employees are making a big difference in the underdeveloped and war locked countries. Just simply educating these people how to live healthier provides enough to keep a village or community to prosper and progress. The WHO anticipates that 4 million more healthcare workers should be in these countries to provide proper primary health care. Raising awareness this month for the workers can inspire other medical care takers to take part in this field to help those civilians. This can even encourage poor civilians to become care takers or workers which will employ them and headway to a slow development within a village or community.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140419202375 

Blog 7: Time extended to enroll in Health Care

The original date to enroll for health care through the federal market place is March 31st , the Obama administration has decided to extend this deadline to mid- April. People are now allowed to ask for an extension only if they check a box online saying that they have begun the process for enrolling so they can finish later. If citizens do not choose a plan by this time then they receive a tax penalty but citizens who ask for an extension do not receive his fine. This extension is for people who ran into technical difficulties with the website and difficulties calculating their financial aid through the system. There is still some confusion as to why an extension is allowed when sign-ups began in October of last year. This enrollment opened up for citizens who cannot afford health insurance due to the Affordable Care Act of 2010. After mid-April people may not ask for extensions through the federal market place, only privately. And the only people who can ask for extensions must tell the truth under the circumstances of having a new baby, losing a job which provided health care, getting a divorce, and technical difficulties among enrolling.

   

Many people are enrolling last minute so this extension gives others who did not wait last minute a chance to finish when the system maybe too busy to finish the enrolling process. The Obama Administration wants every American to be covered so extending the deadline will allow for more people to be covered. Many citizens do choose to not enroll until they are actually sick, hence the tax penalty which encourages people to choose a health plan. Health insurance companies have to be cautious of the extension because they are selling plans into the market place but fear that people are waiting until they are sick to get covered but to keep money in order insurance companies need both sick and healthy people. 

Blog 5: South Africa Improves Health Care

South Africa’s health care system has improved significantly since 1994. After the election of the Government of Nation Unity major changes were made to the health care services.  Availability to health care was made easier to citizens of low socio-economic status. The government’s goal is to have good quality health care to each citizen despite their employment and socio-economic statuses. Many services have become more accessible to women for child care and to improve the infant mortality rate by providing the HPV vaccination. Also, free means to contraceptives are easier for women access.  Since this change, life expectancy has risen, infant mortality has decreased among the white and black population. The South African government is continuing to improve the health of its citizens by providing more health facilities and prevention programs. The government also allowed more medical students to be enrolled in medical school to gain more doctors in their country.

South Africa has had severe trouble with the health of its citizens. Many are affected by HIV, TB, and malaria. Access to free healthcare now makes it easier to prevent and treat these illnesses. The South African government has launched many programs to improve the health of the country including, Primary Health Care and a National Development Plan. South Africa is a developing country gaining great healthcare moves. Many of the citizens in South Africa are in poverty suffering from these illnesses and malnutrition but with these healthcare changes these can be treated and more citizens will be healthier and able to work harder to get out of poverty. 

Blog 3: Greece forced budget cut affects health of citizens

Greece has suffered a mass budget cut by the Trioka because of austerity measures. The Trioka forced this upon Greece due to the two bailout packages it has received. The Greek government has chosen to place the cut on healthcare. A fourth was cut from the hospital budget from 2009 to 2011. In Greece, health coverage is based on the citizens’ employment. Unemployment has jumped to 23.5% in 2012 while maintaining a 14.4% long-term unemployment. Meaning all of these people, which need it the most, are out of health insurance.  Rural areas are in more danger with programs being shut down. Drug users are not given as much clean syringes and condoms so the risk of contracting HIV has increased. And increase in suicide as well as still births have significantly increased. Over Greece’s health is deteriorating. Many humanitarian organizations have been volunteering and setting up clinics to help the uninsured.

Greece’s government decided to take its austerity cut out of the health department which has had a serious effect on the health of the unemployed citizens of Greece.  So many health services have been dropped that even Malaria has returned to Greece since the mosquito spray programs have been discontinued. This puts Greece in a bad state, as it has been; many statics are starting to show its ill citizens. Health issues are just going to get worse and worse when the unemployed stay uninsured. Not only are the unemployed at risk but so are employed citizens which will have more difficulty receiving medical attention.    http://rt.com/news/malaria-greece-austerity-healthcare-171/

Blog 2 : Flowers provide health care

This article seems to be relevant for the due date. Most people believe that the flowers they are buying for their significant others on Valentine’s Day are produced locally. When actually the flower industry has grown to have a worldwide trade like our fruits and vegetables. Which also holds cheaper labor. Southern countries have a better climate for the production of flowers. This is better for the environment than growing these flowers in local glass houses. The down side to this global market of flowers is that in 2005 the women working in these fields like in Ecuador were harmed by the toxic fertilizers required for the plants along with sexual harassment and child labor. All of these farms were encouraged to fix these problems to be Fair Trade certified. One country with this certification is Kenya, which now gives free health insurance and education to the workers and their families.

As the world market gets larger and larger more products are open for trade and cheaper production like flowers. Having this opportunity for southern countries which usually are third world and have the right climate to produce flowers allows for more work and less poverty. At first in 2005 there were many problems occurring on the farms but with reinforcement of a Fair trade certificate these farms improved their conditions. Now countries are starting to give the workers and their family’s free health care which encourages people to work and improve their lives. 

Blog 1: European Countires adopting cross-border healthcare

Within the past month more European Union countries have passed with the European Directive on the topic of cross-border health care. This Directive states that citizens may travel and move within the EU while keeping their health coverage that their country provides them. This includes reimbursing all medical costs in which the person may endure. Not everything can be covered in other countries, patients with long-term care may not use this nor severe cases like an organ transplant.  One may not move to another country to get this cross-border insurance. Countries that signed with this law are Italy, Spain, Poland (with some restrictions), and Cyprus. Petros Petrides, health minister, believes that signing with the directive will modernize the health care systems of the EU and provide safe and healthy environments all around Europe. This law comes into effect in March 2014.

This law provides health coverage all around the EU if you are a member. Countries that join the directive help provide more medical help to members of the EU. Patients which need specialists that reside in neighboring countries now can travel and receive that help without the problem of opposing health companies. Even citizens who are members of a country not in the directive can travel to one to fulfill their health needs. Travelers and tourists making their way around Europe now know that they are covered in other countries which attract more to travel country to country since they know they are safe.  This will bring more tourist money into these countries’ economies since more members are more willing travel.

Topic: Health Insurance

I am interested in learning more about the fluctating health care and insurance policies between several different countires and how if affects their citizens.