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The distribution of scarce resources, specifically with healthcare, is a struggle faced by all institutions and how it is acted upon is heavily dependent on the culture and values of the people making the allocations. In France, a relatively wealthy country with a high standard of medical care available, the government has elected to make advanced medical care available to people who would not be able to obtain it in their respective countries of origin by granting them residence rights on a health basis. The article discusses the social factors behind this, the adaptation of the policy over time to meet new demands, and how a balance between ethical and moral obligations, overall public health interests, and equal opportunity of immigrants applying was developed.

The data for this study were collected as part of a larger, population-based, representative study of persons living in the 23 southernmost counties of Mississippi prior to Hurricane Katrina. This is not a new or inventive way of studying this issue, as a representitive study of a population is one of the classic ways social research is conducted.