The Uninsured in a Booming EconomyIn California, a person can easily work 40 hours a week and still not be covered by health insurance. In fact, the employed are the fastest growing group of uninsured in California, according to the Center for Health and Public Policy Studies at U.C.-Berkeley. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics has teamed up with the Healthy Community-Healthy Economy Initiative of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network to explore the ethical dimensions of the problem. This fall, the Ethics Center will release a report addressing the question, Should California, with its booming economy, ignore the health care needs of its working citizens? The report, which urges the governor and the state legislature to create a coherent health policy to address the working uninsured, grew out of a June forum on the subject. Its aim, said forum coordinator Melan Jaich, was "to develop a new ethical framework for action among politicians, health care providers, insurers, employers, and workers." In the forum, all parties were encouraged to suspend‹at least for one day‹their prepared or rehearsed positions as they discovered common ground with others. Margaret McLean, director of health care ethics for the Markkula Ethics Center, said the forum report can be used to develop concrete recommendations for new legislation and policies. Lifeguard Foundation, Permanente Medical Group, the County of San Mateo, O'Connor Hospital, and Catholic Healthcare West supplied underwriting for planning the event. |
Featured Materials
Issues in Ethics - V. 10, N. 2 Fall 1999 | ||||
issue abstract | ||||
Best Thinking | ||||
thinking ethically | ||||
Only the Ethical Survive | ||||
features | ||||
Why Should We Care About Racial Inequality Per Se? | ||||
When Good People Do Bad Things at Work | ||||
Tough Talk | ||||
a case in point | ||||
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | ||||
at the center | ||||
Moberg Assumes Leadership of Ethics Center | ||||
Cultural Relativism and Ethics Seminar Brings Scholars to Santa Clara | ||||
The Uninsured in a Booming Economy | ||||
to the editor | ||||
Letters to the Editor | ||||
issues in ethics tools | ||||
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