Interview with Joe Watson: Healthcare System

Interviewer: First of all, people, of course, would be concerned about their personal health, their relatives', the people they love and each country obviously has its own system of how healthcare is pro­vided. Speaking of the United States, if one gets ill what does a person do in order to recover?

Mr. Witson: Well, I guess it depends on whether they have insurance. Most Americans have insurance through their employers and what that would entail is what's called a co-pay. Every time you see a doctor or need to have a hospital visit, you have to make a payment in addition to what your employer would pay or what your insurance would pay. Usually, it's very minimal and it's probably, well, in my case, it's $10. But some are $20, some are $50. I think it's designed to keep people from running to the hospital for every single little thing because they know they have to pay a small amount, too, which is a very fair system. If you don't have insurance, one of two things could happen. If you... if you go to a private hospital some hospitals might accept you as an indigent person. They have plans that are intended to pay for your care. Otherwise, you'd go to a state hospital and the service there is pretty minimal. You don't get the best care you can get, but you get, for the most part, adequate care. I'monly speaking for my experience, and I've lived in small and medium size cities. I suppose if you lived in a very large city like New York or Los Angeles and didn't have insurance, it might be more difficult to get healthcare from a state hospital.

Interviewer: You mentioned that the employer pays part of the health in­surance expense. How's it designed? How's it arranged?

Mr. Watson: Well for myself, my employer is the city of Colorado Springs.And the city of Colorado Springs has a contract with an insurance agent. And in this particular case with Memorial Hospital. The city pays a certain amount for my insurance, and out every paycheck that I get I pay a certain amount. It depends on whether you're single or whether you have a wife and whether you have children. In my case, I have a wife. So I pay about $30 to $40 per paycheck towards insurance. The city pays $30 to $40 per paycheck and then each time I see a doctor... then. I have to pay the co-pay of $10.

Interviewer: So does your wife?

Mr. Watson: So does my wife.

Interviewer: When you have children will your insurance extend to cover them as well?

Mr. Watson: Yes, in fact, actually, there are only two options on my plan. One is to be an individual and the other is to have a family plan. So I have a family plan to cover, my wife, and my chil­dren will automatically be covered under that plan.

Interviewer: I know your wife is expecting a child. How's her hospital stay going to be covered by the insurance?

Mr. Watson: Again, each time she goes to see the doctor she'll pay $10. And when the baby is finally ready to be borne she will pay $10 and I be admitted to the hospital. And if there's any kind of emer­gency or anything else there's no extra payment. That's, that's that... So if there's a one-day stay that's what she'll have... If she needs a one-week stay she'll have that... There won't be any extra fee. It'll all be covered under the insurance.

Interviewer: On average, how long do women stay in the hospital when they have babies?

Mr. Watson: Well, being that this is my first baby, I'm not really sure. But I think, on average, probably, one day. And on most plans wom­en can go home the very same day they have the baby. But I believe it's their option if they wish to stay at least one day and if there are any complications she can stay longer. Unfortunately, with the expense of medical care, it's in the hospital's best interest to have the woman leave as early as possible to free up the bed for another patient. So they sometimes might rush the patient's discharge from the hospital.

Interviewer: Do you have a choice what doctor you pick for yourself?

Mr. Watson: Under most plans, I believe you do. We picked one doctor and ended up not liking that doctor. So we switched to another doctor that we're much happier with.

Interviewer: Does it affect the health insurance people or the doctor or...?

Mr. Watson: No, well... it affects the doctor that you stop seeing because they no longer receive payment. They receive payment from the insurance. If you don't have insurance, they receive the payment from you. So it's a way of casting a consumer's vote, so to speak, that you don't see a doctor that you aren't happy with. Then they'll hopefully get the message that they need to change the way they practice.

Interviewer: Let's take a look at a very simple scenario. A person gets ill, gets a cold or the flue. What does she or he do first?

Mr. Watson: Well, if somebody has a cold or the flue, that's a fairly common illness. Generally they'll just take a day off from work and stay home and wait till it passes. There are very few drugs out there that are going to eliminate a cold or the flue. Usually it's some­thing that you just have to... to get through. But if it's something a little bit more serious, generally you can call up and make an appointment to go and see a doctor. If it's something very serious you just go right to the hospital and get admitted immediately.

Interviewer: Can you call an ambulance as well?

Mr. Watson: Yes, if there's an emergency, you just dial 911 and that reaches the police dispatch. And if there's any kind of medical emer­gency they'll immediately get an ambulance on the way. Other­wise, for instance, if you're giving birth or something and it looks a little serious you could call the hospital directly. And they can dispatch an ambulance.

Interviewer: Do you think the United States' health care system is pretty efficient?

Mr. Watson: Well, my personal view is that yes it is. I think it's one of the best health care systems in the world. A lot of people complain that it's too expensive and that it's not accessible to everybody. But I'd say, for the most part, it's pretty much accessible to everybody. And if you have money, you can pay for the extra service that maybe shouldn't be given to everybody. But certainly everybody deserves a minimum. And I think everybody has that minimum in the United States in a relatively reasonable amount of time. I've heard stories about Canada of needing some kind of surgery and having to schedule several months away because their health care system is free. I don't know if that's such a good thing.

Interviewer: As far as dental care is concerned, is it pretty much similar to regular health care?

Mr. Watson: Very similar. You can belong to a Dental Maintenance Organ­isation where you pay a fee and almost everything is covered. The plan that we belong to is very similar to medical insurance in that we pay a co-pay each time we see the dentist. And for certain things like crowns, dentures there's a fixed schedule of fees that you have to pay also in addition to your regular insur­ance. But what's covered completely are our dental visits twice a year, and I think probably the single most important thing you can do for your teeth anyhow is to see your dentist twice a year, have your teeth cleaned and checked, and have any fixed immediately. And that avoids future problems.

Interviewer: And one more question. It's kind of... out of your personal experience. Have you had any kind of emergency or unusual situations that you had to deal with?

Mr. Watson: Yes, once I did. When I was living by myself I developed an ex­tremely bad eye infection. And unfortunately it reached its worst peak during the night. And I debated whether to call an ambulance. I ended up calling a friend of mine who came over and took me to the emergency center. On emergency visits the co-pay is generally higher. So I had to pay $50. But I was able to see a doctor immediately that night and given some medication to go home. In a case a while ago was a case with my father and he was very ill and on several occasions we had to call an ambulance and have him taken to the hospital immediately for some severe intes­tinal and heart problems. And I would say in his case I saw the insurance and medical system work at its best. His healthcare cost probably would've run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I believe he ended up paying maybe $300 of that.

Interviewer: Do you know any cases when people not having health insur­ance have been given a proper treatment?

Mr. Watson: Yes, I do. Ah... and I had a friend whose father was visiting from Russia, in fact, and then he developed a very serious case of pneumonia and I'd say he was probably near death. We de­cided... we were concerned because he didn't have insurance. So we took him to an emergency clinic that we knew wouldn't be very expensive. And as soon as they saw him they immediately recommended that we go to the hospital directly. So we took him to the hospital and they immediately treated him and gave him every necessary treatment that he needed and he was in the hospital for three weeks. That was the case of the indi­gent care that ended up being paid for by the hospital out of their plan because they knew he didn't have any money.

Interviewer: That's very, very actually generous of the hospital. Very inter­esting. Thank you very much.

Mr. Watson: You are welcome.

 

Comprehension

Answer the questions.

1. What are the types of insurance Americans can have?
2. What can happen if you have no insurance?
3. How is health insurance actually arranged?
4. How long does an American woman usually stay in the hospital when she has a baby?
5. How are doctors paid?
6. What is Mr. Watson's opinion of the state of health care in his country?
7. Is the dental care different from regular health care?
8. How are emergency situations dealt with in the US?,

 

Vocabulary Exercises

1. Which doctor do you choose?

1. if you are sad and depressed
2. if you are pregnant
3. if you are tired and feel sick
4. if you ache all over
5. if you break your leg
6. if you can't see very well
7. if you have a sick baby
8. if you have a heart condition
9. if you have a foot problem
10. if you have a skin problem
11. if you have food poisoning
12. if you have a burn
13. if you have a pain in the back
14. if you have painful joints
15. if you have a cavity in your tooth
16. if you need an operation
17. if you need an X-ray
18. if you need a blood test
19. if you sneeze a lot every spring and fall
20. if your eyes itch

2. Look through the list of health problems in the Vocabulary. Which problems are serious and which are usually not serious? Explain the reason for your answer.

3. Choose the right word and fill in the blanks.

a) disease / illness / condition

1. Small pox is an infectious (catching) _______ marked by fever and small red spots on the body. It often leaves permanent marks.
2. The doctor diagnosed the _______ as tuberculosis.
3. The business of doctors is to prevent and cure _______.
4. There hasn't been much ________ in the village this winter.
5. Measles, mumps and influenza are common ______.
6. An infectious _______ can be spread by means of bacteria car­ried in the atmosphere in winter.
7. After the treatment I felt quite cured of all my _______.
8. Children's _______ are treated by a pediatrician, specializing in pediatrics.
9. Smoking is a major course of heart _____.
10. The most common symptoms of the ______ are a high tempera­ture and pain in the chest.
11. She died yesterday after a long _____.
12. Travelers to Africa are advised to get vaccinated against infectious _____ such as typhoid and malaria.
13. People with your _____ should not smoke.
14. You are allowed time off work only in cases of serious _______.
15. Several children are away from school because of ________.
16. Should doctors always tell patients that they have terminal _________ such as cancer?
17. She suffers from a rare ______ of the central nervous system.
18. Childhood ____ such as measles and chickenpox are highly con­tagious.
19. As yet there's no known cure for this _______.
20. After a course of treatment the patient's _____ ___ began to improve.

 

b) ache / pain / to ache / to hurt / to pain

1. We've given him an anaesthetic so that he won't feel any _______.
2. These pills should help to ease the ______.

3. My hand suddenly started to _________, with a dull ___________ which soon spread into my wrist.

1. Don't worry, the injection won't _______ at all.
2. Can't we stop for a while? We've been walking for hours and my feet are ______.
3. I ____ all over after climbing the rock.

 

c) to cure / to treat / to heal

1. After scarlet fever complications developed, and they had to be ______ for a month before the patient was completely ______.
2. The open air life on the farm _______ him of his headaches.
3. The doctor said that if I followed his instructions, I should soon be __________ of the disease.
4. Pam's foot is ______ quickly, but it's still a little painful and she can't walk on it.
5. Doctors began _______ AIDS patients with drug AZT in the mid 80s.
6. My Dad is in the hospital where he is being ______ for a heart condition.
7. Many cancer patients can be _____ if the disease is detected early enough.
8. The seawater is now so polluted that it would infect rather than

9. There are many diseases which doctors still cannot ____.

1. This drug is used to ______ heart disease.

4. Choose the words from the list that can go with the following:

sickness pain measures medicine disease words condition throat ailment operation health

a) curable b) slight c) mild d) serious e) bad f) communicable g) painful h) dangerous i) dull j) growing k) constant l) annoying m) sudden n) delicate o) urgent p) sore q) bitter

5. Give as many word combinations as you can with the verbs and the nouns from the columns.

e.g. to treat – a person / a serious sickness / a minor sickness / symptoms / a pain / an infection.

 

A to cure to treat to ease to relieve to avoid to catch to get to have to prepare an infection a prescription

B AIDS a cold operation allergies a person a serious sickness a minor sickness symptoms a pain a blood test

 

6. Translate the following sentences from English into Russian. Pay attention to the words in bold type.

a)

1. You can avoid getting fat if you don't eat too much and you exercise often.
2. If you catch a cold on Monday, you will still have the cold on Tuesday.
3. The sickness spread throughout the town. Many people became sick.
4. You may get the virus if you are with people who already have it.
5. Children are exposed to more cold viruses in a classroom than they are at home.
6. If one child at school has the sickness, it can infect many other children. Then, they too will have to go to the doctor.
7. Take some aspirin. It will help ease the pain.
8. A sore throat and a running nose are symptoms of a cold.
9. When you get over a cold, you feel fine.
10. There is no cure for the disease yet, but scientists are looking for one.
11. However, a doctor can give you something to help you feel a little better.

b)

1. I've got a bit of an ache in my back.
2. Take no notice of him complaining – he's always full of little aches and pains.
3. Chocolate gives me a toothache.
4. She often gets stomach aches.
5. Is that tight shoe hurting your foot?
6. Dave put on his sunglasses to stop the sun from hurting his eyes.
7. This won't hurt. Just sit still and I'll remove the dressing.
8. Your knee is inflamed, Susan. Is it painful when I touch it?
9. It was agony having my tooth removed – the dentist definitely didn't give me enough anaesthetic.
10. Because of the blisters on her hands, Ann found simple manualtasks very painful.

 

c)

1. Professor Grum is one of the world's leading specialists in lung cancer.
2. A famous brain surgeon came up from Boston and operated on him for three hours.
3. If you are aged over so and are in good health, it's safe to take the medicine prescribed.
4. It may take him a while to recover from the operation.
5. He's been told that unless he stops drinking, soon he will die of a liver disease.
6. After three operations on my leg, I could walk perfectly again.
7. Several years ago she was diagnosed as having diabetes.
8. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital.
9. He said he felt feverish and complained of pains in his chest.
10. The best medicine for you right now would be a good holiday.

 

7. Write the opposites of the words in italics. There can be more than one correct answer.

 

1. a curable disease: ___________
2. a painful operation: ___________
3. a terrible pain in the left side: ___________
4. a slight headache: ___________
5. a breathless body: ___________
6. a slight cold: ___________
7. a terrible headache: ___________
8. a serious illness: ___________
9. an awful cold: ___________
10. a mild pain: ___________

 

8. Match each idiom in column A and a similar expression in column B.

A 1. to throw up 2. to have a throat culture 3. to be run down 4. to have the runs 5. to take care of oneself 6. to make an appointment

B a) to grow the bacteria from some­one's throat b) to have diarrhea c) to eat a good diet, get enough rest and exercise d) to schedule a time e) to vomit f) to be in poor health

 

9. Complete the following table.

noun _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ treatment _______________ cure _______________ _______________ _______________

adjective infectious burned prepared shivery _______________ swollen _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

verb _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ to expose to faint to spread

10. Number the following events in the order in which they usually happen.

a) You are cured of sickness. ___

b) You ease the pain caused by a sickness. ___

c) You get a sickness. _ 1 _

d) You get over a sickness. ___

e) You have a sickness. ___

f) You treat a sickness. ___

11. Match the words in column A with the explanations in column B.

A 1. cavity 2. operating room 3. hospice 4. sick-leave 5. surgery 6. physician 7. ward 8. shot 9. patient 10. druggist

B a) a special hospital where people who are dying are looked after b) a permission to be absent from work c) someone who is sick and is looked after by doctors d) an American word meaning a doctor e) the place where a surgeon works f) a drug put into someone's body with a needle for medical reason g) a person who prepares medicines h) where you visit a doctor i) a large room in a hospital where patients with similar medical conditions have their beds j) an empty space in a tooth that needs filling

 

12. Fill in the blanks with a suitable word from the box.

 

state health

guilt outlet

benefit optimistic

promote anxious

relationship dominate

 

1. A study of family ______ conducted in California comes to some interesting conclusions.

1. For a family to remain healthy the _____ between a husband and wife plays a major role.
2. What _____ the health of the husband doesn't necessarily pro­mote the health of the wife.
3. Giving an _____ to feelings is healthy.
4. There may be _____ for one party but not for the other.
5. If the wife gives her husband a feeling of _____, he is likely to become depressed.
6. If the wife lets her husband ______ on the argument, her mental state will suffer.
7. When men dominate in the domestic arguments, their wives become _____ and depressed.
8. A person's mental _____ is closely linked to his physical state.
9. A healthy family is _____, church-going and led by a male.

13. In this text there are some unnecessary words which do not fit the sense of the text. Find these words in the numbered sentences and cross them out.