Cries of crisis : rethinking the health care debate / Robert B. Hackey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hackey, Robert B., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical care--United States.

Medical care.

Medical policy--United States.

Medical policy.

Medical care--United States--Quality control.

Health care reform--United States.

Health care reform.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (144 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Reno, Nevada : University of Nevada Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Since the late 1960s, health care in the United States has been described as a system in crisis. No matter their position, those seeking to improve the system have relied on the rhetoric of crisis to build support for their preferred remedies, to the point where the language and imagery of a health care crisis are now deeply embedded in contemporary politics and popular culture.In Cries of Crisis, Robert B. Hackey analyzes media coverage, political speeches, films, and television shows to demonstrate the role that language and symbolism have played in framing the health care debate, shaping policy making, and influencing public perceptions of problems in the health care system. He demonstrates that the idea of crisis now means so many different things to so many different groups that it has ceased to have any shared meaning at all. He argues that the ceaseless talk of "crisis, " without a commonly accepted definition of that term, has actually impeded efforts to diagnose and treat the chronic problems plaguing the American health care system. Instead, he contends, reformers must embrace a new rhetorical strategy that links proposals to improve the system with deeply held American values like equality and fairness.

Contents:

The rhetoric of health care reform

The cost crisis

The medical malpractice crisis

The nurse staffing crisis

The health insurance crisis.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780874178906

0874178908

OCLC:

824698907