Understanding Celiac Disease Essay -- immune system, multisystem disor

Unfortunately for diagnosed patients, there is no recognized cure for Celiac disease. What the individual must do instead, is change their diet completely. Some may think that changing a diet around is no big deal and in fact, that may be true until it happens to them. Similar to many other aspects of life, nothing seems to be a problem or as severe until it directly affects the person who thinks it is not a big issue. This makes people diagnosed with Celiac disease lives challenging. On top of having to change their diets completely, they also have to deal with people who do not understand the disease and how it is a serious problem. Being diagnosed with Celiac disease affects the everyday life of people and restricts what they can eat. Celiac disease is a multisystem disorder. It causes the body’s immune system to respond negatively to the protein in specific grains. "The immune system responds to these proteins because it thinks it is being attacked. It then builds antibodies to protect itself from these proteins and inturn those antibodies cause damage to the small intestines" (Bower). In life you do not realize that anything is wrong until of course when you notice something is wrong. For example, coming home from somewhere and walking through the front door just like any other normal day and there is no realization that the house is broken into until noticing that the back door is smashed open. Celiac disease is much like the back door in the prior situation. Many people do not even realize that they have this issue until their stomach begins to be in pain for longer periods. â€Å"Celiac disease, a multisystem disease, is one of the most underdiagnosed hereditary autoimmune disorders.† What multisystem means is that the ... ... hundred percent. This disease is extremely complicated and time consuming, it involves tons of research and planning. Every meal has to be thought about and anticipated. Gluten-free diets are one of the most difficult diets to follow in today's world. Works Cited Bower, Sylvia Llewelyn, Mary Kay Sharrett, and Steve Plogsted. Celiac Disease A Guide to Living with Gluten Intolerance. New York: Demos Medical Publishing, LLC., 2007. Green, Regina. Personal Interview. 06 December 2015. Dennis, Melinda and Daniel Leffler. Real Life With Celiac Disease Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free. Bethesda, MD: AGA Press, 2010. Green, Peter H.R. and Rory Jones. Celiac Disease A Hidden Epidemic. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 2010. Langwith, Jacqueline. Perspectives On Disease & Disorders Celiac Disease. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2012.

Islam: Evils of Idolatry (Surah 10:26-38) Essay

The opening verses portray Allah as a deity that invites his follows to a â€Å"Home of Peace†. Allah will guide them on a straight path, and will reward all that do good works with promises of abundant blessings. Allah will protect these followers and will treat them as â€Å"heirs of Paradise† where they will live forever. However, it is quickly established that while those who do good works will be blessed, those who do evil will be rewarded with evil. They will not be protected by Allah and will be covered in misery. The evil doers will also be heirs, but instead of Paradise they will be heirs of Hell; where they will spend eternity. Islam views idolatry as evil. According this section of the scripture, those who commit idolatry are believed to have turned their backs on Allah. The scripture asks how they can be turned from the one who â€Å"turns living from the dead, and the dead from the living? † The scriptures question their judgment, and declare that even the idols that they worship will betray them in the end. The scripture states that the idols will declare that they had no idea that the evil doer was worshiping them, and that â€Å"Allah is there all-sufficient witness. † The scripture goes on to say that these evil doers who worship idols have no faith. They pose the question, â€Å"Can your idols lead you in the truth? † Islam believes that only Allah can lead you in the truth; therefore, only Allah could have written the Koran. This portion of the scripture concludes by challenging the evil-doers to have their false idols attempt to write one chapter of the Koran. Islam sees the worshiping of idols as an ultimate evil. They believe that not only will idol worshipers be exposed, but that they will pay for their sin by being sent to live in Hell for all of time. Idol worshipers are seen as those who lack faith, and have turned from Allah

Foundation of Christian Thought Applied Essay

If I were to sum up what I have learned from this course it would be focused on Faith and a new understanding of the Bible. Faith is not just part of religion but every aspect of our everyday lives, and is fascinatingly carried through the Bible from the beginning to the end. It began with the Creation, and continued throughout the Fall, Redemption, and Consummation of Christ. It is the foundation of the Christian perspective and what leads God’s people to salvation and good works. Our modern world is so corrosive to faith that Jesus Christ asked, â€Å"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He is there to give his people the gift of faith and to help them to grow in living faith that will last forever. â€Å"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. † (Genesis 1:1) In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? No one can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are not the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation. God was very pleased with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, God stops, observes his handiwork and says, â€Å"It was very good. † This is a great example of being a part of God’s creation. Even when I feel unworthy of his pleasure, I have to remember that God made me and is pleased with me. In verse 26, God says, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness †¦ † On the seventh day, God rested. I often wondered if God needed to put in a day of rest for us to follow. I could not imagine God, who can do anything, being tired, but apparently he considered it important. Rest is often an unfamiliar concept in today’s busy, fast-paced world. It seems to have become socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest, yet God knew that there would need to be a time of reenergizing. I thought a good example of this could be when Jesus, spent time alone away from the crowds. This shows that as human beings we need to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits. The Creation story clearly shows that God truly enjoyed himself as he created his masterpiece. As noted previously, he stopped six times to enjoy his accomplishments. If God can stop to enjoy his handiwork, why is it so hard in today’s society to stop and truly take time to feel good about our achievements? Whether it is a job, hobby, or ministry service, if the work is pleasing to God then it should also bring pleasure to the person. When God created man and woman, Adam and Eve, he gave them many beautiful plants and trees to enjoy for food. But He also gave them one tree from which they were not to eat. This was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s command to them was that if they ate from that tree they would die. In The Fall of Adam and Eve The Bible says that the Devil entered into a serpent and tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1). He got Eve to doubt God’s Word. Satan told her that God knew that Eve would become enlightened and possess the same knowledge as God had if she ate from the fruit of the tree. This is much like Satan’s temptation within society today. There is constant temptation lurking over peoples whispering that there is no need for God. This is proven by all the violence, lying, murder, war, hatred, and disobedience of the 10 Commandments. The fruit was beautiful and Satan was cunning. Eve fell to the temptation and took the fruit from the forbidden tree. Finding it delicious she took it to Adam. As soon as Adam tasted the forbidden fruit, their lives, and that of all future humanity, changed. They immediately knew they had done wrong. They disobeyed God and would be punished. I can completely relate to this feeling of conscience. It is amazing when I do something wrong, and know that it is wrong, how it sits in the pit of my stomach and eats away at me until I make it right. I believe that that is how it is for people with conscience. That is the soul’s way of notifying an individual that what they are about to do, are doing, or have done is not right in the eyes of God. When God came to visit Adam and Eve in Eden, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Their nakedness was something they had never even noticed before. When they heard God coming they tried to hide from Him. Of course God is all knowing. He was not looking for them because He didn’t know where they were, but because he wanted to give Adam and Eve a chance to return to Him and acknowledge their sin. God spoke with Adam, Eve and the serpent. Each one had a specific punishment from God. Adam was told that his work would be hard and become toilsome (Genesis 3:17-19). The woman would bear children with great pain (Genesis 3:16). The serpent was given the punishment of crawling on the ground and that he would be cursed more than any other creature (Genesis 3:14). God told Adam and Eve in the beginning that they would die on the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One death was immediate; this was that they were spiritually separated from God. However, their physical bodies continued to live, but they would not live forever as God apparently intended. They would become old, sick and die. All three (Adam, Eve and the serpent) were put out of the guard and the curse came not only on them but on the whole world. They no longer had a personal communion with God. This is where faith really has to come into play for me. It is hard to take this all in with no proof, and yet part of me says is that not what faith is, giving one’s total self to God in body, mind, and spirit. I have to be able to trust in Him wholly. This is where I need to truly work on â€Å"letting go and letting God†. After the Fall there was Redemption. â€Å"Redemption is being set free from slavery to one’s own sinful nature, slavery to the pressures of the culture which is under the spirit of this present evil age, and slavery to principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in the high places. † When Cain became angry that the offering he had brought to the Lord did not have the same response as the offering of his brother Abel, God spoke directly to him warning him (Gen 4:6-7) that †¦ sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it’ What I feel this is saying is that sin is almost like a wild animal, waiting at the door of Cain’s life, and that it needs to be tamed and mastered. In comparison to society for all generation, this is something that is yet to be mastered. The same is true today as it was all those years ago; when an individual finds them self in a situation where they get angry because one person has more than they do, the normal reaction is to plot to ‘put down’ the other. On some occasions this even leads to murder. There is a freedom of choice in every sin committed. Even though human beings have the resources to take authority over sin; we often choose to submit our will to it and become its slave. ‘If you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness’ (Rom 6:16). As Christians, we have a belief system and a life that is based upon even some laws and regulations that are Biblical. Even people who have never read the Bible and do not therefore know what God has said; have a ‘morality’ that they like to think that they live up to, but often fall short. I feel that Paul says it best in Romans 3:23 ‘†¦ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and that in Rom 3:9‘†¦ we are all under the power of sin. ’ As a human being, our greatest problem is not that we are living in captivity but that we will not accept that we are in captivity. Human beings need to face up to the reality of their dilemma and not to rely upon any false hopes or ideals. Some people rely on doing good in hopes that somehow their good deeds may outweigh the evil they do, but all such arguments are lacking in a recognition of individual human responsibility, and lacking in a dependence upon the work of Christ. The dilemma, then, is not just that we subject to the bondage of sin, but that it is necessary to acknowledge it before Christ who is able to minister redemption. Jesus died on the cross for us. The penalty of sin, under the Law, is both spiritual and physical death. Jesus took that death upon Himself, paying the price for our freedom. Jesus gave His life. Mark 10:45 says ‘†¦ the Son of man came†¦ to give His life as a ransom for many’. Jesus had nothing else to give us but Himself. He is both our ransom and our Redeemer and, more than this, redemption is only found in Him even though we may try and find it elsewhere and in different people who now exist or who have existed throughout history (Rom 3:23-24, Acts 4:12). Because Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the Law by taking the penalty upon Himself, we can be free to look forward to the day of our death because our sin has been dealt with. Although Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for his people, it is still an ongoing task trying to figure out why individuals still behave as they do. The early chapters of Genesis helps to explain why individuals behave as they do, and to understand how we should act so as to please God. The subject of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Paul’s instructions here create a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture. Paul’s instructions are written off as the ranting of an ancient male chauvinist. It is one thing for the unbelieving world to reject Paul’s instructions; it is quite another for Christians to do so. Many Christians refuse to take Paul’s words seriously; even some of those who profess to take the Scriptures at face value, try to â€Å"tip toe† past certain passages in order to avoid the stigma of professing and practicing its teaching. Some individuals claim that they have not taken Paul’s words seriously out of ignorance. Unknowingly, they believe Paul’s teaching to be a mere reflection of his culture, and not a timeless teaching, independent of the culture of that day, and of our own. I believe most Christians fail to understand the responsibilities of Christian husbands and wives in the light of the biblical basis which underlies and necessitates them. For example, The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances our Lord has given to His church in this age. As Christians we are to regularly remember the Lord’s death at communion and the New Testament church devoted itself to a regular observance of it. What if someone were to suggest that this was merely an ancient celebration, applicable and meaningful only to the saints of days gone by, instead of preserving this ancient ceremony, they tell us, let us do something more meaningful, more enjoyable, and more relevant to our culture. What if they suggest having an ice cream and pie supper? Would our unsaved friends be more likely to attend? Would people find it more beneficial? As Christians we must be able to stand up for our faith and explain that we cannot set aside that which our Lord has instituted and which His church has continued to practice, from New Testament days onward. We should also point out that the bread and the wine of communion are symbols, symbols of our Lord’s sacrificial death for sinners. If we were to change these symbols radically, we could not do so without modifying the symbolism. Chocolate syrup might taste delicious on vanilla ice cream, but it would hardly replace the wine as the symbol for Christ’s shed blood. Like communion, marriage is a divine institution. Christian marriage has certain commitments, obligations and duties which are symbolic. The roles which God has given to a Christian husband and his wife are intended to symbolize and represent a greater, more fundamental reality. While marriage is temporal, the reality which is symbolizes is eternal; and thus we cannot understand the importance of the duties of the husband or the wife without grasping the reality which Christian marriage is to symbolically communicate. This fundamental reality which underlies and explains the attitudes and conduct of a man and his wife in marriage is the relationship of Jesus Christ to His church. This relationship was not understood clearly in Old Testament times; even Paul found it to be a mystery. The symbolism of marriage can only be understood in the light of the substance on which a Christian marriage is based: the mystery of Christ’s relationship to His church. Out of all the messages in the Bible, the view of consummation and marriage is what I struggle with the most. In Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam. Adam was given the task of naming all of the animals God had made. As they passed by two by two it became apparent that every male animal had its female counterpart. Adam was conspicuous as the only creature without a corresponding mate. I believe that by this means God created a yearning in Adam for a mate of his own. God provided her, but she was not like any other creature, in that she was not made from the dust of the earth; she was created instead from Adam’s flesh and bones. God created the woman as Adam’s partner, fashioning her to correspond to him in every way. God then brought the woman to Adam, and presented her to him as his wife. Adam joyfully responded, â€Å"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man† (Genesis 2:23). As creation’s first husband and wife, Adam and Eve symbolized by the marriage the unity of Christ and His church which would be achieved at the cross of Calvary, centuries later. While reading Ephesians, Paul says â€Å"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. † As I read on Paul explains in verse 23 how our Lord is the Head of His church, He is the â€Å"Savior of the body†. I understood this to mean that, the headship of Christ is evident in the salvation which He accomplished at Calvary. (Ephesians 5:21-33) In the early chapters of Ephesians, Paul spoke much more about our salvation in Christ, but he laid the foundation for Christ as the head of His church as its Consummation by teaching that all of history is being divinely directed toward the goal of â€Å"summing up all things in Christ† (Ephesians 1:10). In Genesis 2:24 Moses instructs us that when a man and a woman come together in marriage, the man is to leave his mother and father and to unite his wife, to become one flesh. While there may be practical benefits to a man leaving his parents and bonding to his wife, Moses does not bother to mention them. His words indicate that there is one fundamental reason. The Bible says that the fundamental and primary union evident in the marriage of Adam and Eve is to be reflected in every subsequent marriage, to symbolize the union of Christ and His church. Because God created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from Adam’s flesh and bone; they began as one flesh through the creation of Eve. This union was also to become evident in their sexual union and in the bearing of children, but the first marriage on earth began with only one relationship, a man and his wife. This husband-wife relationship, Moses indicated, is the primary one, and the parent-child relationship is secondary. When President Obama announced he now supports same-sex marriage, he cited his Christian faith. â€Å"The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know; treat others the way you would want to be treated,† he said in his interview with ABC News. I think when Christians at large talk about gay marriage, they are missing the point. The point is not that gay people want to take away other people’s right to get married. The whole struggle is really centered around the desire to be allowed in, to be able to participate in this ritualistic display of how much love the human heart can hold. It is about the basic right to choose who you want to spend forever with, and to have that celebrated by family and friends. Freedom of religion is a great thing, but since when did our ability to choose how or what we worship translate into our ability to dictate to others that they must conform to our chosen lifestyle, and that they must obey the rules of our personal faith? I find it rather alarming just how many laws are drifting to the top of legislation, laws that propose the outright imposition of one section of one religion’s believers on the entirety of the population. What is even more alarming to me is how many Christians seem completely okay with this blatant show of force. It is true that we are allowed to believe whatever we want to believe in. It is also true that we are able to express those beliefs freely. Just as the human heart has the capacity to hold so much love, it seems to have the ability to brim full of just as much hate. When we disregard the claims of others to rights do we fully enjoy ourselves, simply because we adopt a â€Å"normative† sexual preference? That is when we find that we are no better than all the people we have learned about in history classes in school who denied the rights they enjoyed to those who were not in the majority with them. It is not about whether or not it is right or wrong to be gay. What matters is when Christians begin to be okay with forcing someone else to follow the scripture, when it may not be something they are ready for or interested in. If Christians want to claim the freedom to speak our religion, and to choose our opinions, we cannot do so while denying others that same right. Christians come out in droves to protest whenever they feel their right to be a Christian is being threatened. I believe that if the Christian community were at large to have one of their basic civil rights legislated against, voted against by non-Christians, there would be a wave of outrage like this country has never seen. With a marriage license comes so many other benefits such as; taxes, home ownership, joint bank accounts, insurance policies, the decision to take a partner off life support, and being allowed in their hospital room after surgery. These are the kind of things that piece of paper can grant, and they are the kinds of things we take for granted. I believe that everyone deserves to be with someone who will cherish them as much as God cherishes us. God made man and woman in his image. We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, and sometimes in the words of John Lennon, maybe â€Å"All you need is Love†.

The Conelly’s bond with Roan Inish

The film directed by John Sayles; The Secret of Roan Inish is a captivating story about an Irish family; The Coneelly’s. The family’s bond to the island of Roan Inish and the seals that reside nearby is exceptional and mystifying. Why are the Coneelly’s so drawn to the island? The family’s roots on Roan Inish start far back with Fiona’s great great great grandfather Sean Michael who arrives on the island on a prayer. Another Coneelly; Liam, solidifies the connection to Irish island through his marriage to Nula. Finally the loss of Fiona’s brother Jaime at Roan Inish keeps the island on the mind of the family almost constantly. The Coneelly’s attachment to the Island of Roan Inish is firmly rooted by several factors. One of the most important factors of this revolves around the oldest known member of the family, Sean Michael. Sean Michael was aboard a fishing vessel that capsized; drowning all of the Coneelly fishermen on board except Sean Michael. As the legend tells it; Sean Michael had such a strong soul the sea would not take him. Seals rescued Sean Michael and took him to the island of Roan Inish; where he colonized and single handedly rebuilt the Coneelly family. Another pivotal member of the family is Liam. On the island everyone is family and when it comes time to find a mate the men leave Roan Inish to find their bride. Young Liam indeed left the island to find his bride; on an island not far away he came across a selkie; a half woman, half seal creature. As the legend tells it a man who is able to keep the skin of a seklie will have her affection forever. Liam took that advice seriously and captured the skin; and then rightfully gained her affection. They eventually bore children. Their love of the sea was constant; Nula even suggested they build a cradle for their newborn from wood that once sailed the sea. This cradle was passed down through the Coneelly family for years to come and used as a bassinet for each new Coneelly family member. Eventually Nula comes to realize Liam has been keeping her seal skin; at this point she returns to the sea but the seals always seem to stay close to the island of Roan Inish. Once Nula returns to the sea the Coneelly’s ban the hunting of seals. This is a solid symbolic bond between the Island, Seals and the Family. Finally the last important factor for the family connection to the island is that of young Jaime, Fiona’s brother. After Fiona is told the story about Jaime’s disappearance she becomes obsessed with the idea that Jaime is alive. Fiona makes two trips to Roan Inish before convincing the other family members Jamie exists. On the first trip she is brought to the island by Hugh. Fiona spends a fair amount of time on the island and then spies Jamie in a field. She tries to summon Jamie but he runs away, gets into the family bassinet which he is using as a boat and drifts away. On Fiona’s second trip to the island her boat mysteriously becomes untied from the dock. The boat seems to be lead to the island by way of the Seals. Fiona sees Jamie again and confirms that he is being cared for by the seals. This is another paramount symbol of a strong connection between the Coneelly family and the island. The bond between the Coneelly family and Roan Inish is steadfast and strong. Their ties between the seals and the island run deep. Sean Michael’s colonization of the island starts the great tie between the family, island and seals. Liam’s marriage Nula strengthens the relationship with the seals and symbolizes the connection between the two. The seals overseeing and caring for Jamie after the Coneelly’s left the island proves that the seals and family are one. Theese clues demonstrates that the Coneelly family belongs on the Island of Roan Inish where the seals and family can live together.

Mothers

The parent teacher meeting is an activity which fosters good interaction between the parents of the children and the school teachers. Most of the time, these interactions provide very beneficial effects to the total welfare of the students. Apparently, there are three major groupings which can be observed among mothers who attend these kinds of meetings-the â€Å"social†, â€Å"reserved† and the â€Å"unconcerned†. The social mother is the one who actually has all the energy in order to completely devote herself to the parent-teacher meeting. In terms of expenses, she actually manages to impart more amounts of money that what is required in fulfilling a project for the benefit of the whole class, in effect of her child. She is always willing to participate in upcoming school activities. It is also a fact that this type of mother will commit right away at the earliest possible time to an activity which is still to be scheduled. When it comes to interactions with the teacher, she always manages to ask questions about the performance of her child. To get more information, and possibly some commendations from the teacher is her prized reward. The next type of a mother who attends parent-teacher meetings is the reserved one. This kind of mother pays the exact amount needed in order to fund a certain school project. When it comes to school activities, she does not commit right away but will make sure that the teacher will be able to know her compliance as soon as possible. Although she manages to go to school activities, the intention is to serve as the guardian for her child and not for any other reasons. In terms of interacting with the teacher, this kind of mother will just accept whatever the teacher will tell her about the child and would not dare elaborate more about his performance. She will just take into considerations whatever advices the teacher would give. The last type is the unconcerned mother. Since she considers her child’s welfare less of a priority, she is the one who will always complain about the expenses to be incurred for school projects; would even demand for a detailed breakdown of where the money contribution is going to be used. When it comes to school activities’ planning, this type of a mother will almost always give out reasons just to skip those important child-parent interactions in school. These reasons are closed ended and would take no other course but to deny the invitation for a school activity. The unconcerned mother would not even care to talk to her child’s teacher for any other info about his performance in class. It is very clear that doing so is just a waste of time for her. Motherly care is considered to be the most effective factor in bringing up a well rounded child. Programs such as the parent-teacher meetings will definitely provide some more good avenues to improve whatever the conditions of school children are based on the assessment of the teachers. The three groups of mothers who attend the parent-teacher meetings in schools are the core individuals who will practically influence how their respective child will develop to become good citizens.                              

Health Care Roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Health Care Roles - Essay Example It can also help sick individuals to find support from being a part of groups comprised of other patients who are also in similar situations and thereby influence or reinforce their attitudes to the illness and aid them in developing coping mechanisms.(NCI, 1989) Communication may be verbal, which is the spoken communication, or non-verbal which contributes meaning to the verbal expressions or may occur independently of verbal communication – such as the body motions and gestures, facial expressions, smiles, nods, which also function as a medium of communication. While communication itself is the process of transmission of messages and the interpreting of their meaning, during therapeutic communication, a care giver seeks to communicate with empathy and elicit such responses from the patient which will be beneficial to his or her well being. Therapeutic communication is geared towards promoting the well being of the patient through communication and interpretation of both verbal and non verbal cues. It is especially useful in the field of nursing and in the care of patients who may face chronic health conditions, because it is an aid in facilitating positive clinical outcomes. The given scenario concerns the patient Vivian, who has been suffering form abdominal pains for some time but has not been able to avail of health services due to a lack of health insurance. However, as soon as she gets a job and secures health insurance, she schedules an appointment with the doctor. The dà ©cor of the waiting room is stark stark, with only two notices up on the wall – one stating â€Å"Turn off cell phones† and the other â€Å"have co-pay ready.† She signs in at the front desk but before she can even begin to state her problems and mention the pain she is in, the assistant tells her to take a seat and calls another patient who

Sick Around America directed by Jon Palfreman Essay

Sick Around America directed by Jon Palfreman - Essay Example Under the federal COBRA law, employees under comprehensive group coverage can only continue with the coverage provided they pay the premiums in full which is rather expensive leading to many employees not taking the option. Therefore, this leads to ‘job lock’. According to Buchmueller and Valletta (1996), this term defines reduced worker mobility that arises from the perceived risk of losing health coverage. This compromises especially individuals who have a medical condition, who, if they change jobs, may be denied coverage either for the existing condition or altogether under their new employers through application of the ‘preexisting condition’ clause. Another challenge that is evident is that employees are forced into jobs contrary to their career choices, just to secure health coverage. To the employers, small businesses feel the heat of these plans. The documentary Sick Around America highlights the plights of a small business hit by a million dollar cost for the delivery of a premature baby by the employees that resulted in their insurers increasing the premiums by over 78%. Consumer Directed Health Plan (CDHP) is operated by insurance companies who are not obliged to cover anyone. Indeed, they take steps to avoid those who are already sick through a practice called medical underwriting. This practice enables the private insurers to avoid the sick and select the healthy. This is done through rigorous forms that require a person to fill all his health history. This is compounded by the fact that the insurers have access to all the medical records ever developed about any person. As a result, any person with a history of serious conditions, such as diabetes and heart problems gets rejected. This was also applied to people with even common ailments. Failure to disclose anything material is regarded as fraud and the insurers employ this opportunity to recede retrospectively coverage of persons after they have become sick. Insurers take the opportunity of this window to frame questions that are ambiguous and that will, in some way, lead the unsuspicious appli cant forgetful of some minor past details to give incorrect information, which would, in turn, allow the insurer to recede the contract. This practice was being abused. Indeed, the documentary points to the fact that some insurers actually paid bonuses to their employees who were in charge of rescission based on how many rescissions the carried out in a given year. Medical underwriting has been countered in some states through the guaranteed issues. In such states, the law requires everyone who seeks insurance to be insured. However, such guaranteed issues predisposed the subscribers to extremely high premiums given that it allowed them a leeway to subscribe after they got sick. In states such as Massachusetts that had the guarantee issues, everybody was mandated to buy a policy or else be fined. This was hard to implement given that due to the soaring cost of the premiums, many residents could not afford it, and it was, therefore, impossible to enforce it. The health care reform ha s introduced some far reaching provisions with regard to the above problems. For instance, to cure the problem that arises from medical underwriting, there are introduced programs that care for those who have been rejected due to health conditions or disability. Such programs include the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), while young adults below 26 years qualify for coverage under their parent’