Universal Healthcare:
Political and Social Obstacles
Many Americans are under the impression that the United States has the best health care system in the world. That may be true at many top medical centers but the disturbing truth is that this country, as a whole, lags well behind other advanced nations in delivering timely, effective, and affordable health care. This next presidential election might take the country in a new direction in terms of how our medical system is run. In fact “socialized medicine” has been mentioned numerous times in the current presidential debates. This is not the first time in American history that this issue has been brought up, in fact universal health care has encountered many social and political roadblocks, but it seems as if it will soon be feasible for America to adopt some form of European style health care. Why has it taken so long to realize the flaws of our current system?
Past U.S. presidents foresaw the problems that would arise with the American health care system, and they sought to make a change before Americans suffered. Unfortunately their ideas were not met with an open mind and ultimately were dismissed. In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt became president elect and it was his responsibility to ensure that the nation prevail during those times of hardships. He proposed a plan, the “New Deal,” which would reignite the economy and provide education and healthcare to all. Eventually, the US made it out of the depression and most aspects of the New Deal were implemented with success with the exception of healthcare. Harvey Cushing, Chief of the President’s Medical Advisory Committee, who was also once part of the Committee on Economic Security...
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...es. Soon it will be time for America to vote for a new leader, and it is all of our responsibility to demand what other countries have had for decades― healthcare for all.
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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-...
On several occasions, legislatures were on the verge of success, but each time they faced defeat. In 1883, Germany paved the way for universal health care by beginning what was known as compulsory sickness insurance. Soon after, other countries began to follow suit. However, the primary reason for the emergence of this type of health care in Europe was not an indication as recognition on a humanitarian level, rather conceived as a means of maintaining incomes and buying political allegiance of the citizens. In 1916, legislators began to propose a bill that would have been very similar to the German model for compulsory sickness insurance; however, in 1917 the U.S. entered World War I and an anti-German fever resulted (Palmer 1999). Americans soon began to show their distaste for what was dubbed “German Socialist Insurance,” and that resulted in the end of the debate for universal health care for some time. In the 1930s, the debate for universal health care was brought up again; however, no action was taken until 1965, when President Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law for the elderly and
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.
What Seems To Be The Problem? A discussion of the current problems in the U.S. healthcare system.
2. Rosenthall, Andrew. "The Shame of American HealthCare." NY times [New York] 17 Nov. 13: 1-2. Web
The people of the United States have been suffering from a number of serious issues, all related to health care: millions go uninsured every year, health care is too expensive, and the quality of care is poor, especially for the price. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obama Care, began addressing these issues. The ACA is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law was enacted with the goals of increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance, lowering the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reducing the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government. Although several of the act’s promises have not come into effect yet, it has managed to extend healthcare to the repetitively uninsured. While many of the accomplishments that the act has already made, and aims to make, are no small feat, there are still issues within the policies and procedures. For example, Obama Care boasts that it is a universal healthcare system. However, it is unlike any other in the world, and is technically forced on citizens in a variety of ways. It has been debated, that for that reason, the new law may come into violation of several human rights. Another significant issue with the ACA regards a cap on citizen’s out-of-pocket expenses, and the fact that the administration decided to delay making a definitive decision, potentially costing many American’s unprecedented medical fees.
Shi Leiyu, SinghDouglas A. “Essentials of the United States health care system” March 5, 2009
The implementation of a universal health care system in the United States is an important challenge that needs to be overcome. There are numerous amount of editorial that argue on both sides of the debate. Some people argue that a universal health care system would bring costs down and increase access to care while others argue that a universal health care system would be too expensive and reduce the quality of care. The correct answer requires intensive understanding and economics to overcome, the arguments must be examined for a proper answer.
James Madison once said, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”. In creating a new form of government, Madison tried to effectively plan for a Constitution that would account for the fact that human beings by nature are self-interested. The United States has witnessed tremendous growth within its people since Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Not only has rapid political and technological advances unified American into a supreme power, but triumphs like the Civil Rights Movement have also helped to promote equality. Yet, from 2009 to 2010, the number of people without health insurance increased from 49.0 million to 49.9 million. Analyzing James Madison’s ideology in The Federalist 10 and 51 suggests that a correlation exists between factionalism and the failure of the United States to universalize healthcare. In order to understand the connection of factionalism and national healthcare this paper will first explain Madison’s notion of factionalism by referencing key components and commentary from his argument in The Federalist 10 and 51. The second part of this paper will discuss the history of American healthcare as a means to explain the many factions that have hindered the success of nationalizing health insurance. Furthermore, referencing the emergence of factions within the healthcare debate, like the AMA (American Medical Association), will highlight the stigma surrounding national healthcare. The last part of this paper will put forward the question of whether America will ever see complete universal health insurance.
The need for universal health care within the United States has been evident, and needed to be addressed. The old healthcare system was plagued with issues, including expensive premiums that were on the rise, along with an inflated average infant mortality rate and limited average life expectancy, which ultimately led to many people being left uninsured (“Affordable” 2). In the 2012 presidential election, one key issue was how to reform America’s broken health care system, and to instate a successful universal healthcare system that has resolved the previous issues. Being one of the last influential and competitive countries in the world without universal healthcare, the pressure was on for the United States to develop their own system. Since Barack Obama became president, Obamacare, instead of the proposed Romneycare, was born.
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
Healthcare reform comes down to the question: Is healthcare a right or a privilege? Many countries around the world have decided that healthcare is a right and that every citizen of their country should have healthcare coverage despite affordability or medical needs. The U.S. has not provided free healthcare to its citizens. Our system of healthcare has been one of a privilege. The U.S. ensures universal availability to basic, life-saving treatment in emergency rooms but the U.S does not ensure availability to more cost-effective, comprehensive, and preventive treatments. Emergency physicians and primary care physicians all agree that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which focuses on assuring access to emergency care, but doesn’t ensure that health care is a right for all citizens of the U.S. across all health care settings.