Glossary

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A TO F

CIVIL RIGHT

A right which is recognized for all individuals in a civil society.

COMMODIFICATION

Treating any item or resource as a commodity without regard to its more natural role serving vital human or environmental needs.

COMMODITY

An item or resource which can be purchased with the prospect of later sale at a time and place when the price will be greater, allowing a profit to be made from the initial purchase or investment. Unlike an individual’s clothes or dwelling commodities are purchased largely for their prospect of later sale. Health care resources, air and water can all be treated as commodities through capital investment and manipulation to sell the resources or services at a greater price.

CONSUMER-DRIVEN

In health care this is the concept that health care (mainly future care as dictated by needs yet unknown) can be purchased on the open market by informed consumers like they would buy a new jacket from LL Bean. The concept is they are well-equipped to assess what their future needs might be and to freely decide how much they can afford to spend. Unfortunately no one is able to assess their own and their family’s future health care needs, even workers offered more than one possible health plan have little choice in plans and no one can read and comprehend the detailed list of inclusions and exclusions for care currently in force for even a single company (let alone to compare several company offerings).

EINO

A project initiated in 1998 to further UHC in the United States by supporting state level organizing towards state legislation. EINO stands for Everybody In, Nobody Out. The slogan was made popular by Quentin Young a founder of Physicians for a National Health Program

FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT

The imbalance between what the government takes in (taxes and revenue) and what the government spends. In fiscal year 2005 this was $319 BIL.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Long thought of as a domain of the Republican party, the Reagan and Bush II presidencies have shown that GOP is more "fiscally irresponsible" than any Democrat could even dream possible. Fiscal responsibility would be a commitment to having minor or no Federal Budget Deficit and thereby decreasing the Gross National Debt. GW Bush has spent federal dollars at more than twice the yearly rate of the Clinton presidency and meanwhile cut taxes, mostly for the wealthiest 5% of Americans.

FOR PROFIT

A corporation which is set up so that its primary responsibility to its owners, or shareholders is to make a profit for them. A for profit clinic or hospital must clear a good profit to satisfy those who have put-up or invested the money, this profit may at times mean the curtailing of needed services to the community, even if it leaves the community without any alternative way to fulfill that need.

G TO L

GROSS NATIONAL DEBT

The federal government assumes debt every year that there is a "federal budget deficit" (see above)and this piles up (or accumulates) year after year unless the country manages to have a surplus. The accumulated debt, plus any interest owed on that debt is the Gross National Debt ($ 8 TRIL in late 2005). Most of this, specifically $5.6 TRIL had to be financed by borrowing in capital markets, which is to say scheduling and owing interest also.

HEALTH

The state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (World Health Organization, Constitution). Read a more complete and thoughtful definition of health.

HEALTH CARE

All of the resources both material and services which are necessary to promoting, maintaining and extending health.

HEALTH CARE REFORM

Reforms of the health care system or of any part of such system, including individual programs or temporary annual budget limitations.

HUMAN RIGHT

A right which every human being has, solely by virtue of their being human. Specifically a right which has been agreed on by all or a preponderance of civilized nations and thereby recognized by essentially the entire human race. Derives from the older philosophical concept of natural right.

ICCPR

International covenant on civil and political rights. Treaty states: "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. The expression ‘inherent right to life’ can not be properly understood in a restrictive manner. The protection of this right requires that states adopt positive measure.

ICERD

International covenant on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. The signed nations resolved to adopt all necessary measures for speedily eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, and to prevent and combat racist doctrines and practices in order to promote understanding between races and to build an international community free from all forms of racial segregation and racial discrimination.

ICESCR

International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. This covenant calls for the "right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest available standard of physical and mental health. [to be implemented by] the creation of conditions which would assure to all, medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.

INCREMENTAL HEALTH CARE REFORM

Reforms of the health care system which leave intact the fundamental structure. These efforts are focused on either small expansions of existing programs (extension to more of the public) or prevention of threatened and proposed cutbacks to current programs (eliminating some of the public need which is presently served). Many organizations locally and nationally are involved in such reform and the organizations may or may not also favor fundamental change of the health care system.

LOSS RATIO

Health insurance industry terminology for funds expended by the company to serve any individual policyholder’s health needs.

MARKET-DRIVEN

Anything which is developed according to the needs of the market, i.e. to allow profit to be made from production, service, holding, resale and distribution. A health care system is market-driven when the primary goal of the system is to enrich the corporations involved, their CEO’s and large shareholders. Satisfaction of any public or individual human need then becomes, at best, a spin-off or side product of running any health care involved company well, or, at worst, a detrimental loss as indicated by the health insurance industry’s terminology "loss ratio" referring to funds which are expended by the company to serve any individual policyholder’s health needs.

NOT FOR PROFIT

A corporation which is not obligated to generate a profit for owners, or initial investors and which has no shareholders. Large nonprofits in the USA are involved in health care and can even reward CEO’s with tens of millions of dollars in salary and benefits annually. Such nonprofits can also enrich themselves, that is to say, accrue large increases in the value of their assets, sometimes with the hope of future sale to a private company (conversion) and increased salaries and bonuses for the CEOs. Not for profit companies must often adopt the business practices of their local "for profit" competitors or risk losing value and eventual bankruptcy.

M TO S

SINGLE PAYER

A health care system in which all health care costs are paid out of public coffers (taxes) and in which all residents of the state or country are therefore in the same single risk-pool (covered together). Physicians and other health care workers are not necessarily employees of the state though, they can set up private practices. Likewise private corporations may still involved in equipment, pharmaceutical sale and development, staffing, administration and even hospitals much as in the current US system.

SOCIAL MEDICINE

All medicine by its very nature is social. The way we define diseases and health, the methods we use for diagnosis and treatment, how we finance health care, all these reflect the social environment in which medicine operates. Social medicine, however, looks at these interactions in a systematic way and seeks to understand how health, disease and social conditions are interrelated. read more

SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

An entire health care system and the related industries being owned by government and run by the government. All people employed therein would be employees of the federal or state government. It is a myth of UHC opponents that single-payer health care or any other UHC system represents the socialization of medicine.
UNDHR

United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 of which states "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

WHO - world health organization. The body organized under the authority of the United Nations to deal with health crises, campaigns and policies.

WTO

world trade organization.

T TO Z

UHC

see Universal Health Care
Universal Health Care

Universal health care is everyone covered completely for their medical needs and nobody left outside the system. Some liberals may propose from time to time a system which covers 95% or 98% of all Americans and we might argue about how good or bad the proposal is - but it is NOT a proposal for universal health care if it's not universal.