Mama Might Be Better Off Dead - 1289 Words

â€Å"Mama Might Be Better off Dead: the Failure of Health Care in Urban America† by Laurie Kaye Abraham, follows a families struggles over the course of three years in a poor Chicago neighborhood. Abraham points out specifically how the health care system in the United States has failed the different members of the poverty stricken Banes family. The main character, Jackie has the responsibility of taking care of her sick and elderly grandmother. Jackie also cares for her three young children with little help from her husband, Robert who also suffers from various illnesses. While, there are some government programs set up to help families like the Banes’, the health care system is certainly lacking. Cora Jackson is an African American woman†¦show more content†¦First of all, keeping track of a monthly spend down of an elderly, disabled patient is ridiculous. In Mrs. Jackson’s case, she needed Medicaid to cover her transportation needs. Its close to impos sible to schedule appointments and procedures if you are not sure how you are going to get there. Other patients use Medicaid for numerous reasons. A better option for Medicaid would be to take an average of a few months expenses and use that to determine eligibility for longer than a month at a time. It is common for patients to spend the same amount on medication each month. They also try to visit doctors on a regular basis. Knowing they are covered by Medicaid for longer than a month, would be a huge relief. The patients could keep their appointments without worrying about transportation costs. Also, medicine could be taken as directed instead of trying to make it last longer in fear of losing coverage the next month. Another area which needs addressing is in the area of medically necessary items. Who determines if adult diapers is necessary or a convenience? For an elderly person who does not want to walk to the wash room after going to the bathroom, I can see how diapers would be convenient. But what about the person with no legs and not adequate enough help to lift them out of bed? I would definitely say adult diapers is medically necessary for this person. As a social worker in health care, I would definitely try to be of assistance to Mrs. Jackson. First of all, IShow MoreRelatedMama Might Be Better off Dead by Laurie Kaye Abraham968 Words   |  4 PagesSection One: 310 Words In the book, Mama Might Be Better off Dead, there were two main characters that were crucial to the plot of the story, Jackie Banes and Mrs. Jackson. Throughout the book, I found Mrs. Jackson to have the best connection with public health. Mrs. Jackson was an elderly and disabled women with a variety of health care odds stacked against her. She had numerous health concerns; such as, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and an amputated limb (Abraham, 1993). Mrs. Jackson sufferedRead MoreCreative Writing: The Power of the American Dream867 Words   |  4 Pageson a hilltop. That is what the American dream is right? The American dream is truly in the eye of the beholder. One might think that the American dream is an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, but others might want the smell of fresh cut grass in a small suburb. It’s whatever the person who is working for it wants it to be. As we can see in the play, all of the main characters might be striving for an American dream, but none of them are striving for their same American dream. The idea of the AmericanRead MoreEssay on Dreams Deferred in Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun915 Words   |  4 Pagesthe question. That it might â€Å"dry up like a raisin in the sun,† or â€Å"fester like a sore.† Yet the play maybe more closely related to Hughes final question of the poem, â€Å"Or does it explode?† The play is full of bombs that are explosions of emotion set off by the frustration of the Younger family, who are unable to grasp the possible reality of their dreams. The family shares the dream of having a better life but compete against each other for the insurance money given to Mama after her husband’s deathRead MoreConflict, Irony, and Symbolism in Alice Walker’s â€Å"Everyday Use†754 Words   |  4 Pagescharacters is evident. When Dee arrives home to visit Mama and Maggie, readers can see the differences in personality between the three characters. Dee has changed her name to Wangero to get closer to her so- called â€Å"culture† and is collecting many objects of her past that she did not want before. On her mother’s savings for her, Dee is able to go to college and therefore is more educated. However, she uses this new knowledge to look down on Maggie and Mama. One of the many objects of her past that DeeRead More Raisin in the Sun Essay: A Dream Deferred1327 Words   |  6 Pagesdeferred? (l. 1) Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem Dream Deferred. He suggests that it might dry up like a raisin in the sun (ll. 2-3) or stink like rotten meat (l. 6); however, at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking, Or does it explode? (l. 11). This is the view Lorraine Hansberry supports in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama opens with Walter reading, Set off another bomb yesterday (1831), from the front page of the morning newspaper; however, heRead MoreLorraine Hansberry s A Raisin982 Words   |  4 PagesNo one can really know what goes on in the author’s mind. It is one of the most frequently asked question in each English class. To really know what the author is talking about, it is better to ask them directly in person, but the unfortunate part is that they might be dead. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, the author, Lorraine Hansberry, choose to name her play from a famous poem by Langston Hughes. It is difficult to really know why she choose Hughes’ poem but there are reasons to infer. LorraineRead MoreLaura Esquivels Like Water for Chocolate Essay1709 Words   |  7 Pagesand Josephine Esquivel.†(Gale encyclopedia, 560). From her being so tied to her culture we get a deeper point of view on the Mexican cultural practices. In â€Å"Like Water for Chocolate† we see the true cultural beliefs and ties come out of Laura through Mama and through the use of recipes as a transition into chapters. Mexican culture is always present in this novel from many different aspects of culture in the novel. We see a big conflict come from this religious belief as Tita tries to marry Pedro butRead MoreSummary Of The Piano Lesson 1750 Words   |  7 PagesAnother thing Bernice fights is her family’s history as slaves and this is shown through her daughter’s lack of knowledge of her family’s history. She says she does this to keep her daughter safe because those who are connected to the piano end up dead, and Bernice does not want her daughter Maretha to be involved. In The Piano Lesson, Bernice Charles struggles through many years of her life where she cannot accept her family’s past, until her brother’s life is in danger when she finally has to playRead MoreA Raisin In The Sun: A Dream Deferred Essay1609 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"What happens to a dream deferred?† (Hughes l. 1) Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem â€Å"Dream Deferred.† He suggests that it might â€Å"dry up like a raisin in the sun† (Hughes ll. 2-3) or â €Å"stink like rotten meat† (Hughes l. 6); however, at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking, â€Å"Or does it explode?† (Hughes l. 11) This is the view Lorraine Hansberry supports in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, in witch she examines an African-American’s family’s struggle to breakRead MoreSummary Of The Of Bed, Charity Stifled A Scream2177 Words   |  9 Pagesthat; you has ta think of the young’uns- they still need you here ta help ‘em.† Wailing miserably from the pain she felt in her chest, Charity fell to her knees, pulled her long hair around, and began cutting it with the knife. She was whacking it off so fast that she cut her head in several places before she finished. A million thoughts and memories rushed through her mind so fast that she could not separate them- even though the entire time, her mind kept asking, why? Why did he have to die? Why