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HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC — a VOA Special English program aboutmusic and American life. And we answer your questions.
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This is Doug Johnson. This week – music from the newest album byGloria Estefan. And a listener wants to know about health care inthe United States.
But first – we look at the history of one of the most importantsports events in the country.
World Series
HOST:
Saturday is the first game of the World Series for thechampionship in North American baseball. As Faith Lapidus reports,perhaps no other sport is rooted as deeply in American life.
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No other sport has created as manypopular traditions as baseball has. There are plenty of poems,songs, books and films.
Americans of all ages play baseball. Thousands of teams competeat all levels. There are school teams, company teams and teamssupported by religious groups. Baseball is part of American English.Here is just one example: When Americans fail at something, theymight say they “struck out.”
The first group of professional baseball teams formed in theUnited States in eighteen-seventy-six. The National League had eightteams then. Today it has sixteen. The other major league today isthe American League. It formed in nineteen-oh-one.
The American League tried to get National League players tochange teams. The American League teams were also competing with theNational League for fans.
One-hundred years ago, in nineteen-three, officials from the twoleagues met to try to ease the situation. They agreed to a series ofgames between two of their teams. The team that won the most gamesin the series would be declared the best team in the land. That isstill considered the purpose of the games known as the World Series.
The first World Series brought together the American League teamfrom Boston and the National League team from Pittsburgh. TheAmerican League team won. Baseball historians say that victoryconfirmed the American League as a real force in professionalbaseball. They also say the World Series made the sport intoAmerica’s game. And, for millions of Americans, that traditioncontinues today.
Health Care
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Guanzhou, China.Mike Li asks about the medical care system in the United States.
Most Americans buy health insurance from private companiesthrough their employers. Workers and employers usually share thecost.
Insurance companies pay some orall the costs when a person visits a doctor or hospital. But theymay not pay for some kinds of treatments or services, or there arelimits. Also, many plans pay for some kinds of examinations onlywhen a person is sick.
One kind of health insurance is provided by a health maintenanceorganization, or H-M-O. Groups of doctors work for an H-M-O.Individuals and families pay each month to belong. Their employersusually also pay part of the cost.
Members can see the different doctors within their H-M-O atlittle or no additional cost. Millions of people belong to H-M-0’s.But others want more freedom to choose their own doctors andhospitals. Also, some people say an H-M-O may put too much pressureon doctors to control costs.
About forty-three-million Americans, or fifteen percent, have nohealth insurance at all. Many cannot pay for insurance, but have toomuch money to receive free health care for the poor. Some have nojob, or work for a company that does not provide insurance. Stillothers are sick and cannot get insurance to pay for their treatment.
Two federal programs pay medical costs for some Americans.Medicare pays for many older and disabled people. Medicaid pays forpoor people.
Some want a system that pays for all people, like other majorindustrial nations have. Eight-thousand doctors support a proposalfor a national system of health insurance. The proposal appeared inAugust in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That isthe nation’s largest doctors group. But the group itself says asingle-payer system would limit care and create other problems.
Health costs continue to increase. The government has attemptedreforms in the past. But it is a huge job. The Bush administrationis proposing to reduce drug costs for older Americans. The idea isto offer a limited drug payment system through Medicare. TheDemocratic presidential candidates also have health care proposals.
Gloria Estafan’s New Album
HOST:
Gloria Estefan has recorded morethan twenty albums and sold more than seventy million copies. JimTedder tells us about the newest release by the forty-six-year-oldsinger.
ANNCR:
Gloria Estafan’s new album is called “Unwrapped.” The first hitsong from the album is called “Wrapped.”
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Gloria Estefan was a child when her family had to flee Cuba afterFidel Castro seized power in nineteen-fifty-nine. They moved toMiami, Florida. She had her first big hits in the middle of thenineteen-eighties with the group Miami Sound Machine. Then, innineteen-ninety, a truck hit their bus. She broke her back. Herrecovery took months.
Gloria Estefan says music has helped her through hard times. Hereis another song from her new album. It is called “I Will Always NeedYour Love.”
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Gloria Estefan’s popularity has helped other Latin singers findsuccess in the American music industry. Four of the songs on”Unwrapped” are in Spanish. We leave you with “Te Amare,” or “I willlove you.”
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HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Chi Un Lee andNancy Steinbach. Our producer was Paul Thompson. And our engineerwas Vosco Volaric.
I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week forVOA’s radio magazine in Special English.