Argument for Universal Healthcare The time to overhaul the American healthcare system is now. As the baby-boom generation becomes older, the stress that will be placed upon our healthcare industry will become unprecedented. As a worker in the healthcare industry, I have witnessed first hand the issues facing not only our elderly, but of the young and middle-aged. They have to make decisions that no family should face: to buy medication or pay for groceries. To those of you whom I’ve seen screaming at town hall meetings that proposed changes to healthcare will lead us on a path to a socialistic society, you are the very ones that benefit from your government’s help. Many of you already enjoy Medicare as your government-sponsored program that will pay for your medical coverage for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years. Does your fellow human beings not deserve the same benefits as you? What if the current workers of today were to rise up, knowing that the system will be bankrupt in a few years and say “I’m not going to pay anymore into the Medicare system for which I cannot reap the benefits”? What kind of medical coverage will you have then? The truth is we are all interdependent upon one another. Today’s Medicare Beneficiaries rely upon the monetary injection into the system by the current workforce. It is doubtful the system will be able to sustain the healthcare needs of those baby-boomers that are still a few years away. Our focus has also been towards those of illegal persons in our country who are being provided services without first having paid into the system. Would it surprise you to learn that our Medicaid system is being used by people who can well afford to pay their way, but instead have their assets transferred to a family member or spend down their wealth so they can qualify for state Medicaid benefits? Where is your outrage then? Why is it that this great nation, the richest nation on earth, cannot afford to provide good healthcare coverage to its most vulnerable citizens?
The two major components of Medicare, the Hospital Insurance Program (Part A of Medicare) and the supplementary Medical Insurance program (Part B) may be exhausted by the year 2025, another sad fact of the Medicare situation at hand (“Medicare’s Future”). The burden brought about by the unfair dealings of HMO’s is having an adverse affect on the Medicare system. With the incredibly large burden brought about by the large amount of patients that Medicare is handed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to fund the system in the way that is necessary for it to function effectively. Most elderly people over the age of 65 are eligible for Medicare, but for a quite disturbing reason they are not able to reap the benefits of the taxes they have paid. Medicare is a national health plan covering 40 mi...
For the last five years of my life I have worked in the healthcare industry. One of the biggest issues plaguing our nation today has been the ever rising cost of health care. If we don't get costs under control, we risk losing the entire system, as well as potentially crippling our economy. For the sake of our future, we must find a way to lower the cost of health care in this nation.
Healthcare professionals want only to provide the best care and comfort for their patients. In today’s world, advances in healthcare and medicine have made their task of doing so much easier, allowing previously lethal diseases to be diagnosed and treated with proficiency and speed. A majority of people in the United States have health insurance and enjoy the luxury of convenient, easy to access health care services, with annual checkups, preventative care, and their own personal doctor ready to diagnose and provide treatment for even the most trivial of symptoms. Many of these people could not imagine living a day without the assurance that, when needed, medical care would not be available to themselves and their loved ones. However, millions of American citizens currently live under these unimaginable conditions, going day to day without the security of frequent checkups, prescription medicine, or preventative medicines that could prevent future complications in their health. Now with the rising unemployment rates due to the current global recession, even more Americans are becoming uninsured, and the flaws in the United States’ current healthcare system are being exposed. In order to amend these flaws, some are looking to make small changes to fix the current healthcare system, while others look to make sweeping changes and remodel the system completely, favoring a more socialized, universal type of healthcare system. Although it is certain that change is needed, universal healthcare is not the miracle cure that will solve the systems current ailments. Universal healthcare should not be allowed to take form in America as it is a menace to the capitalist principle of a free market, threatens to put a stranglehold on for-...
Our great and powerful nation, the United States, a country that much of the world views as the most highly developed nation in the world, is the only industrialized country that does not provide its citizens with universal health care, according to a report by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA 1). Being that we are a capitalist economy, perhaps the government feels it is the duty of the people to make sure they are taken care of. This makes sense, doesn’t it? We are all smart individuals; we can make decisions and take action for ourselves. But what can the individuals do when the cost of insurance and health care is too high for them to handle?
In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.
According to the most recent numbers posted by the Census Bureau, an estimated 47 million Americans are uninsured. But let us examine these numbers closer. Of this 47 million, roughly 7 million are illegal immigrants, 9 million are on Medicade, 3.5 million are eligible for healthcare but do not pursue these available health services, and approximately 20 million families have incomes above the poverty level ($41,300 for a family of four) and can afford regular healthcare services with more coverage. Government tries to add all these factors together to make the numbers higher, in an attempt to gai...
The U.S. healthcare system is very complex in structure hence it can be appraised with diverse perspectives. From one viewpoint it is described as the most unparalleled health care system in the world, what with the cutting-edge medical technology, the high quality human resources, and the constantly-modernized facilities that are symbolic of the system. This is in addition to the proliferation of innovations aimed at increasing life expectancy and enhancing the quality of life as well as diagnostic and treatment options. At the other extreme are the fair criticisms of the system as being fragmented, inefficient and costly. What are the problems with the U.S. healthcare system? These are the questions this opinion paper tries to propound.
As a person reaches retirement age, they are faced with many things to deal with. Retirement from work is one of the many realities they face. If they are not financially stable enough to retire, many continue to work rather than face the uncertainty of their financial future. Retirees do not get enough from Social Security that many are forced to live in low cost housing or become homeless, especially our veterans. Applying for Medicare Insurance is another obstacle an elderly person will have to face. Many are afraid that they may not be able to han...
is the wealthiest country in the world and yet it is the only major industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee health care as a right to its citizens. Around 45,000 uninsured Americans die each year(What The U.S.). As a nation built upon the ideals of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” and the idea that the government is responsible for protecting it’s people’s basic rights, it is a great source of shame that the U.S. does not have universal health care. It is the government’s job to ensure it’s citizens’ rights, not make a profit off their suffering and the denial of one of their basic rights. Universal health care could save lives and ease suffering, physically, financially, and emotionally. It would take away a great financial burden off of each individual as well as the nation and government as a whole by not wasting all the per capita that we currently waste without universal health care. It would even be beneficial to capitalism because people would be more willing to take risks without the fear of having to go medically uninsured (Why The U.S.). By allowing its people to suffer and die, especially just to make a profit that will be needlessly wasted anyway, the U.S. government is committing a great immorality. Are not human lives more important than allowing greedy independent companies make a profit off of their suffering and deaths? As a country that is even willing to go to wars to protect the basic rights of foreign peoples,
Health care is one of the most debated issues in the United States today and it 's necessary to understand the basics of this problem. Approximately 50 million people living in the United
Even during the worst economic downturn, the advantages of a universal health care system remain hidden from society. Instead, the adverse impacts continue to occupy the minds of many Americans. Misguidedly, citizens are repeatedly ensnared into ideological disputes inc...
In sum, America needs to reevaluate the status quo surrounding medical care. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the current model only benefits a select few and causes insufferable costs for the rest of the world. If there is no reform for these issues, money will continue to be siphoned directly into the pockets of large, for-profit companies that benefit from the strife of
As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
Medicare is the federal program that provides health coverage for people who are 65 and older (Green, 2003). Although many assume that Medicare provides long-term care, these benefits are very limited and are not efficient enough to accommodate the much needed care services for older adults. For example, Medicare programs do not help to pay for personal care services such as eating, dressing or using the bathroom even though these “activities of daily life” are the most needed services for most seniors (Green, 2003). These care services can be provided to seniors by the long term care insurance program. According to the national survey that was conducted among people who are 55 and older, just 36% believed that they would need long term insurance (Carter, 2008). However, it's estimated that at least 60% of people over age of 65 will require some long-term care services at...
The real problem with the health care system in this country is not just the people running it but mainly the massive pit of debt it is continually digging. America spends around 17%, which is about $2.5 trillion of our GDP on health care alone! It is safe to say we spend nearly more than any other country out there. Where is all of this money going though, are they just giving it away to those in need of free medicine or people who cant pay there doctors bills? Most of the money spent is on regulations, research on medicines and failures of medicines that may have not made the “cut” to be on the market.