What kind of healthcare system does Britain have today? What kind of healthcare system does Canada have, and how is it similar to/different from Britain? What kind of healthcare system does the U.S. have, and how is it similar to/different from the others?

Sociology 110 Homework Assignment #8

General Instructions: Complete the readings listed on the syllabus under Week 8. Write notes in the margins of the readings or in a separate document. You can use the questions below as a guide to help you determine what to focus on in the readings.

Type or write out answers to the questions below. Your answer to each question should be about a paragraph in length. Please answer in full sentences, unless otherwise noted. Include page numbers in your responses so that you can refer to the reading during the in-class discussion. You can include direct quotes, but if you do, try to also explain the quote in your own words. Bring your answers and the readings with you to discussion section during Week 8.

Note 1: this article from Jacob Hacker was written in 1998, before the enactment of “Obamacare” in 2010. Therefore, his description of the development of U.S. healthcare policy over time is incomplete. Nonetheless, it continues to be true that the U.S. does not have a national health insurance system that covers everyone, unlike other wealthy countries.

Note 2: See the tables on pages 85 and 86 for summaries of the overall argument of the article.

Questions on Hacker’s (1998) “The Historical Logic of National Health Insurance”:

1. What kind of healthcare system does Britain have today? What kind of healthcare system does Canada have, and how is it similar to/different from Britain? What kind of healthcare system does the U.S. have, and how is it similar to/different from the others?

2. Hacker (1998) describes how his three cases are similar and different in terms of three “institutional features” (p. 70). What are these three features, and how do Britain, Canada, and the U.S. differ in terms of them? (Hint: you can draw on Table 1, p. 85, to help you answer this question. However, be sure to go into more detail than the table).
3. What are critical junctures? How does this general concept apply to healthcare policy, in particular?
4. What were the three key “policy decisions” faced by all three countries (Hacker, 1998, p. 82)? (Hint: you can draw on Table 1, p. 85, to help you answer this question. However, be sure to go into more detail than what is in the table).
5. Summarize Hacker’s explanation for why Britain moved over time towards a national healthcare system. (Hint: you can refer to Table 2, p. 86, to help you understand the timeline of events. However, in your answer, focus on the explanation, not just recounting what happened).
6. Summarize Hacker’s explanation for why Canada moved toward national health insurance in the 1950s-1960s. (Hint: you can refer to Table 2, p. 86, to help you understand the timeline. However, in your answer, focus on the explanation, not just describing what happened).

1. What are the similarities and differences between the development of healthcare policy in the British and Canadian cases? How does Hacker (1998) account for the differences?

8. Summarize Hacker’s explanation for why the U.S. never developed a national health insurance policy. (Hint: you can refer to Table 2, p. 86. However, in your answer, focus on explaining why the U.S. failed, not just what happened).

1. How does Hacker (1998) contrast the U.S. with the other two cases (Britain and Canada) to shed light on why the U.S. failed to ever establish a national health insurance program?