Social Functions and Economic Aspects of Health Insurance

1 Introduction.- Outline of the Book.- 2 Insurance, Social Relations, Moral Community, and the Cost of Medical Care.- Insurance and Social Relations.- Pooled Interdependence and Social Control.- Primitive Societies.- Mutual-Aid Societies in Europe.- Mutual-Aid Societies Among American Ethnic Groups.- Health Insurance and Expenditures for Medical Care in Japan.- Cultural Values and Behavior Patterns.- Kinship Organization.- Number of Physicians and Organization of Medical Care.- Private and Public Insurance.- 3 Medical Care: Actual Effects and Public Perception.- The Historical Decline in Mortality Rates and III Health.- Cross-National Evidence.- The Special Case of Japan.- Is Curative Medicine Irrelevant?.- Contrary Evidence?.- Other Criteria for Assessing the Effectiveness of Medical Care.- Minor Ailments.- Medical Judgment as the Reason for Seeking Care.- Improvement in Role Functioning.- Stress and Anxiety Reduction.- Public Perception and Social Definition.- Conclusion.- 4 Health and Economie Factors in Health Insurance.- Health of the Population.- Economic Productivity and National Efficiency.- Economic Insecurity.- Insurance as Risk Reduction.- Conclusion.- 5 Cultural Factors in Health Insurance.- Medical Technology.- Moral Imperative of Medical Care as a Right.- Conclusion.- 6 Health Insurance and Institutionalizing Marginal Utility Decisions.- Health Insurance and Marginal Utility.- Institutionalizing Decisions to Purchase Medical Care.- Health Insurance as Ritual.- Medical and Economic Anxiety.- The Sacred, the Profane, and Moral Anxiety.- Conclusion.- 7 Health Insurance, Social Integration, and Social Cohesion.- Medical Care, Health Insurance, and Social Policy.- Provider-Patient Relations.- Class Structure.- Private Industry, Health Insurance, and Employee Morale.- Generations, Kinship Units, and the Family.- Social Policy and Social Exchange.- Conclusion.- 8 Economic Costs Versus Social Benefits of Health Insurance.- Moral Hazards, Social Control, and Social Cohesion.- Implications for Medicare and Social Security.- Conclusion.- 9 Health Insurance, Cost Containment, and Social Conflict: A Future Perspective.- Supply of Physicians.- Medical Technology.- Trends in Illness and Disability.- Public Attitudes and Perceptions.- Health Insurance: From Conflict Between Classes to Conflict Between Generations.- Social Security as the Source of Generational Conflict.- Social Relations Between Generations and Social Security.- The Elderly, Social Security, and the Social Control of Conflict.- Conclusion.