Becoming unexpectedly ill isn't what every American, if any, wishes to have happen to them or a loved one. The debate whether the United States should have a universal healthcare meaning, every citizen in the United States should receive free healthcare, is one of the biggest controversies in the U.S, some say it would cause major problems for the country and to the citizens, while others would say it would benefit the people greatly. Although our country needs the money from citizens paying for healthcare, Americans should not be required to pay for healthcare because families are going bankrupt, it is a right to the people to have healthcare, families don't bring in enough income to afford care, and thousands of peoples lives are being lost because they cant afford the care. …show more content…
If we had a Universal healthcare families would not be losing everything they had. In a recent Harvard University study, they found out that, “medical expenses account for approximately 62 percent of personal bankruptcies in the US.” (Hill) When people think of bankruptcy they think that it is when a person does not pay their home insurance or bills piled up that were forgotten to be paid, but in reality, more than half the percent of cases of bankruptcy have been due to medical expenses. Families should not need to worry about their own or families illness while worrying whether or not they are going to go bankrupt and lose everything. Households have been put into spots where they must put so much money into healthcare costs and treatments that they have no money left to put towards their place of living and other needs to live a worry free life. It is not fair to Americans to be put in a spot where they choose whether they will pay for an illness or pay for where they are living or any other expense. Not only is healthcare needed, it is a right to the Americans to
The facts bear out the conclusion that the way healthcare in this country is distributed is flawed. It causes us to lose money, productivity, and unjustly leaves too many people struggling for what Thomas Jefferson realized was fundamental. Among industrialized countries, America holds the unique position of not having any form of universal health care. This should lead Americans to ask why the health of its citizens is “less equal” than the health of a European.
According to editorial one, universal health care is a right that every American should be able to obtain. The author provides the scenario that insurance companies reject people with preexisting conditions and that people typically wait to receive health care until it's too much of a problem due to the extreme costs. Both of these scenarios are common among Americans so the author uses those situations to appeal to the readers' emotions. Editorial one also includes logical evidence that America could follow Canada's and Europe's universal health care systems because both of those nations are excelling in it.
America is known for democracy, freedom, and the American Dream. American citizens have the right to free speech, free press, the right to bear arms, and the right to religious freedom to name a few. The Declaration of Independence states that American citizens have the rights including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” America promises equality and freedom and the protection of their rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But with all the rights and freedoms that American citizens enjoy, there is one particular area where the United States seems to be lacking. That area is health care. The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have some form of legal recognition of a right to health care (Yamin 1157). Health care reform in the United States has become a major controversy for politicians, health care professionals, businesses, and citizens. Those in opposition to reform claim that health care is not a human right, therefore the government should not be involved. Supporters of reform believe that health care is most definitely a human right and should be available to everyone in the United States instead of only those who can afford it, and that it is the government’s responsibility to uphold that right.
In conclusion, there still needs to be a lot of work done to health care in the United States. Other nations provide universal health care to their citizens, but this would cause dilemmas in balancing two often conflicting policy goals: providing the public with equitable access to needed pharmaceuticals while controlling the costs. Universal health care probably would not work in the U.S. because our nation is so diverse and our economy is so complex. The system we have now obviously has its problems, and there is a lot of rom for improvement. HMO’s will still create problems for people and their medical bills, but they definitely should be monitored to see that their patients are receiving just treatment.
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.
...ently, without expensive health insurance, Americans are in a bind. If they cannot afford health insurance, they surely cannot afford the medical bills that will fall upon them should they need to be hospitalized.
People who are in favor of universal health care in the U.S. use the argument that the U.S. was built upon the basic ideals, the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” and that we all have the right to at least a minimum standard of living. To deny universal health care is to deny these basic ideals and rights to the people and therefore unconstitutional. Not only is it unconstitutional, it is also immoral. It is immoral to deny people health care, allowing them to suffer and even die, just because they cannot afford it and to force people to pay so much money that they go bankrupt for a basic right. In 2007 about 62% of all U.S. bankruptcies were related to medical expenses. If the U.S. had universal health care, medical bankruptcies would no longer be an issue (Top 10 Pros & Cons). Universal health care would also be beneficial to the economy. Businesses and employers would no longer have to pay for health insurance for their employees and the government wouldn’t waste as much per capita on health care as it does now without a universal health care system. It would also allow people to be more willing to take entrepreneurial risks because they won’t fear having to go without health insurance (Why The U.S.
A universal healthcare system is a great idea in theory, but in actuality, no one has figured out a reasonable proposal for where the money should come from. Economists claim that more than 2 trillion dollars are spent on health care each year. That’s over $6,000 per person. It would be reasonable to assume that universal health care would cause the already grand cost of health care in the United States to increase even more. The most likely outcome is that taxpayers would have to pay into a large pool from which everyone would draw for their health needs. This would create several problems. First, it would raise taxes for everyone. It would also mean, fundamentally, that many people who choose a healthy lifestyle would be required to pay the same amount as people who choose to live an unhealthy lifestyle, which hardly seems fair. Finally, a universal healthcare system could lead to huge increases in unemployment. All of the Americans who are currently employed with private insurance companies could suddenly find themselves without work. Government regulation could lead to decreased salaries for doctors. This hardly seems like a more
Many people of which do not know, or even understand programs, or funds that can assist them in these situations they are in. People not knowing or cannot afford health care is a huge problem especially considering the fact that many Americans are elderly or suffer from acute disease, disabilities, and even mental disorders. Without proper health care many of these Americans will suffer tremendously and their symptoms may develop even worse without proper medication and help. This cannot be given without affordable health care.
Health insurance, too many American citizens, is not an option. However, some citizens find it unnecessary. Working in the health care field, I witness the effects of uninsured patients on medical offices. Too often, I see a “self-pay” patient receive care from their doctor and then fail to pay for it. Altogether, their refusal to pay leaves the office at a loss of money and calls for patients to pay extra in covering for the cost of the care the uninsured patient received. One office visit does not seem like too big of an expense, but multiple patients failing to pay for the care they receive adds up. Imagine the hospital bills that patients fail to pay; health services in a hospital are double, sometimes triple, in price at a hospital. It is unfair that paying patients are responsible for covering these unpaid services. Luckily, the Affordable Care Act was passed on March 23, 2010, otherwise known as Obamacare. Obamacare is necessary in America because it calls for all citizens to be health insured, no worrying about pre-existing conditions, and free benefits for men and women’s health.
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-...
Universal health care is medical insurance provided to all the residents of a country by their government. Out of all the major industrial countries, The United States is the only country without a universal health care system. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a health care reform law making it illegal to be uninsured in America, which is a major step towards it. Universal Health Care should be mandatory in America because it gives everyone an opportunity to receive more equal care, the overall health of the population would increase and current insurance plans are unaffordable for many Americans.
With the United Nations listing health care as natural born right and the escalating cost of health care America has reached a debatable crisis. Even if you do have insurance it's a finical strain on most families.
In a perfect world all patients would receive the same level of healthcare and they would all be treated equally based on their illness. Although, living in a capitalist society not everything is meant to be equal. Our country was founded by settlers looking to escape from punitive taxation and were looking to be free from all other countries and start a new country. The United States is known as the place for people to chase the American Dream, where you work hard and the fruits of your labor can potentially payoff, overwhelmingly in some cases. However, not everyone can or will realize their American Dream since space is limited at the top. The richest Americans are able to enjoy larger homes, nicer cars, and lavish vacations. These are material items, but there is something else that they are able to buy that is not material, that is the right to life. The best healthcare can be viewed as subjective, but having more money you can buy almost anything, including the best care and options that people with less resources cannot. Therefore, people at all income levels experience different levels of healthcare. Many Americans are given access to healthcare, including those living in poverty, but that does not mean they receive the best or equal care as those who are wealthy, which is unethical.
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.