The document discusses access to healthcare as a social justice and Catholic issue. It notes that the US spends more than double per capita on healthcare than other industrialized countries but has worse health outcomes, and that life expectancy varies greatly between US counties and is strongly predicted by wealth. Children in poverty are seven times more likely to have poor health. The Affordable Care Act aims to expand access but will still leave many uninsured. Trinity Health is a large Catholic healthcare system that serves patients regardless of ability to pay.

2. Passions can be helpful, but they can also blind us. Can you determine what sorts of things are behind the passions you see on this video about a topic that ordinarily tends to be pretty dry (health insurance!)? And can you identify blind spots on one or the other side (or both) based upon your reading for Tuesday, the video Sick Around America , and our discussions about social & economic injustice in general? vt

4. “ In the end, the kind of health care we tolerate reflects the kind of society we are or want to be.” — Dr. Edmund Pelligrino (XP, p. 139)

6. ANSWER: C. 29th place At 77.9 years, we are tied with South Korea and Denmark for 29th – 31st place, despite being the second wealthiest country on the planet (measured by per capita GDP). Japan has the highest life expectancy at 82.3 years

8. ANSWER: C. More than double We spent $6102 per person on medical care in 2004 (estimates for 2007 are $7600). That ’s more than double the $2552 median of the 30 OECD countries. Yet our health outcomes are among the worst.

10. ANSWER: B. 15 Years Populations in some wealthy communities live on average well into their 80s, while others in some inner city neighborhoods and Native American reservations barely scratch 60.

14. ANSWER: E. All of the above The biggest killers of African American males in many poor, segregated urban neighborhoods are not violence nor drugs nor AIDS, but heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases that cut men down in middle age.

16. ANSWER: C. Whether or not you are wealthy The wealthier you are, on average, the better your health, from the bottom all the way to the top. Genes, diet, exercise and other behaviors are important. But a poor smoker still stands a greater chance of getting ill than a rich smoker.

18. ANSWER: A. True The total number of infant deaths among both African American and white Americans has fallen since 1950. But today the infant mortality rate for African Americans is two and a half times that of white Americans, a greater gap than 60 years ago. In fact, the rate among African American mothers with college and professional degrees is higher than among white mothers who haven’t finished high school.

21. ANSWER: D. 7 Times Children are most vulnerable. Not only are they susceptible to sub-standard housing, poor food, bad schools, unsafe streets and chronic stress, but the impacts of childhood poverty are cumulative, leading to a pile-up of risk that influences adult health and can even affect the next generation.

24. A 2 3 4 5