Blog 2: Ability and Social Status

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In terms of ability and social status here in Morocco, something I've passively thought of is the differences between their healthcare systems and ours. While this isn't something we learned about directly, as the sinus pressure, food poisoning, migraines, or heat-related illnesses started catching up to us this past week, I think it's something we should all look into. 


As we all know from personal experience, the US healthcare system is highly privatized and does not provide universal coverage. Statistics report that "48.7% of citizens received private insurance coverage through their employer (group insurance), 6.3% received private insurance through health insurance marketplaces (nongroup insurance),21.2% of citizens relied on Medicaid, 14.6% on Medicare, and 1.3% on other public forms of insurance (eg, Veterans Health Administration [VHA] and Military Health Service [MHS]), leaving 8% of Americans uninsured, (US Healthcare). Most people, even those with insurance, struggle to see specialists or visit the ER when it's necessary here in the US. I know that on many occasions, I've been one of those people. 


Comparatively, Morocco is a good bit different. While the public sector isn't the best and holds a bunch of disparities, 83 percent of care  is provided by public hospitals and 17 percent is provided by private centers (International Trade Administration, 2020). It's a two tiered system, where the public insurance (baseline insurance covered by the state) is universal, but there's a private sector available for those who are willing to pay more (Mouttaki, 2024). While healthcare in Morocco is affordable from the Western viewpoint, it doesn't always mean the same for locals. Doctor's appointments are also walk-in and first come first serve (Mouttaki, 2024). 

Pictured Above: A streetside pharmacy. (S.a)

Another major difference is the prevalence of pharmacies. We've seen them dotted around as we traveled around Morocco, always denoted by a green cross or crescent sign. Things like ibuprofen aren't available over the counter, but you can ask the pharmacists for a lot without a prescription, including antibiotics (Mouttaki, 2024).  This contrasts what we're used to as Americans, where we can just pop in and buy the largest imaginable jug of tylenol at our whims. It's just interesting to think about how different even everyday things like going to the pharmacy can be at times. From my own personal experience, I find it quite similar to some systems I witnessed in Bangladesh as well.

Sources Cited

International Trade Administration. (2020, December 10). Morocco - Healthcare. International Trade Administration | Trade.gov. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/morocco-healthcare

Mouttaki, A. A. (2024, September 16). Handling medical emergencies and healthcare in Morocco. MarocMama. https://marocmama.com/handling-medical-emergencies-and-healthcare-in-morocco/

S.a, S. (n.d.). Covid-19 crisis threatens 30% of Moroccan pharmacies with closure. Bladi.net English. https://en.bladi.net/covid-crisis-threatens-moroccan-pharmacies-closure,80639.html

US Healthcare System Overview - Background. ISPOR.org. (n.d.). https://www.ispor.org/heor-resources/us-healthcare-system-overview/background

 



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