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Arguments against universal healthcare in the USA
Arguments against universal healthcare in the USA
Arguments against universal healthcare in the USA
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Liberty, equality, and fraternity. The infamous expression dates back as a political motto to galvanize the citizenry in the midst of the French Revolution. Today, this phrase exemplifies not only the republican ethos that incited the revolution, but also embodies the country’s healthcare system; Liberty, defined by the freedom of a patient to choose any healthcare provider he or she wishes to. Equality, characterized in the universal medical coverage for all citizens, regardless of socioeconomic status. Fraternity, expressed by the overwhelmingly positive regard French citizens view their healthcare, with 88% describing the system as “good or very good” (Chevreul K 181). Consequently, the French healthcare system is exceptional compared to …show more content…
The Statutory Health Insurance (SHI), financed primarily through “payroll taxes and...an income tax,” covers the entire resident population (E. Mossialos 59). The SHI is composed of several schemes in which “individuals and their families are affiliated with a scheme based on their employment status and remain in [that] scheme in retirement.” No individuals can opt out to ensure coverage among “virtually the entire population.” The most popular scheme “covers employees in commerce and industry,” representing approximately 88% of the population. Despite the variety of SHI schemes for variations in employment statuses, such as agricultural or self-employment, “there is no competition among the schemes.” For low-income individuals …show more content…
In France, healthcare relies on the “preferred doctor” scheme, which “represents a soft form of gatekeeping.” Patients would generally obtain a diagnosis with their GP, and then are referred to specialists for further care. However, patients have the option to neglect their GP’s referrals and instead take advantage of “direct access to specialists or other GP’s” (Chevreul K 75).There are no networks of doctors and hospital, as is the case in the American healthcare system, although patients seek other providers would only face “lower levels of reimbursements” (Chevreul K 54). As a result of France’s universal healthcare system at the statutory level, patients are not restricted by the doctor and hospital networks, whereas American patients are coerced to choose a provider as dictated by their private insurance. As a result, “France is generally perceived as a country with an extensive patient choice,” bolstered by the fundamental principle that it is “a patient’s right to choose [a] health professional and hospital” (Chevreul K
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
The citizens of France, inspired by the enlightenment, desired a government run by the people. Marquis de Lafayette wrote, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions may be based only upon general usefulness” (de Lafayette 783). The French wanted to bring equality to all classes. The French revolution brought much more social change than the American revolution. Inspired by Lafayette’s declaration that, “no group, no individual may exercise authority not emanating expressly therefrom” (de Lafayette 783), the class system was destroyed. The revolutionaries were open to ending slavery, however women remained marginalized within the social structure of France. Similarly to the American revolution, the enlightenment ideas that drove the French revolution were not applied to society as a
The French Revolution was a tumultuous period, with France exhibiting a more fractured social structure than the United States. In response, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proposed that “ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities, and of the corruption of governments” (National Assembly). This language indicates that the document, like its counterpart in the United States, sought to state the rights of men explicitly, so no doubt existed as to the nature of these rights. As France was the center of the Enlightenment, so the Enlightenment ideals of individuality and deism are clearly expressed in the language of the document. The National Assembly stated its case “in
In Canada, access to health care is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Canadian Health Care Act and this system is considered to the one of the best in the world (Laurel & Richard, 2002). Access to health care is assumed on the strong social value of equality and is defined as the distribution of services to all those in need and for the common good and health of all residents (Fierlbeck, 2011). Equitable access to health care does not mean that all citizens are subjected to receive the same number of services but rather that wherever the service is provided it is based on need. Therefore, not all Canadians have equal access to health services. The Aboriginal peoples in Canada in particular are a population that is overlooked and underserved
Out of all the industrialized countries in the world, the United States is the only one that doesn’t have a universal health care plan (Yamin 1157). The current health care system in the United States relies on employer-sponsored insurance programs or purchase of individual insurance plans. Employer-sponsored coverage has dropped from roughly 80 percent in 1982 to a little over 60 percent in 2006 (Kinney 809). The government does provide...
Newman, Alex. “Examining Healthcare: A Look Around the Globe at Nationalized Systems.” The New American. 15 Sep. 2008: 10. eLibrary. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
A family health insurance plan can cost up to 80% of a worker’s monthly earnings. Sweatshops also do not pay for sick days, so most employees work while they are sick, not to lose pay (“Toxic Uniforms”). Workers inscribed in the Institute of Guatemalan Social Security (IGSS) have the right to a pension of 60% of their average income at 62 years old and after finishing seventeen years of work. The Alianza Fashion factory never inscribed more than 65 workers in a month in the government’s required healthcare programs. To cover the costs of health care, pension and disability the IGSS taxes workers and employers. Employers must deduct 4.83% from their employees’ salaries to cover the workers’ portion and the company must pay 10.67% of the workers’ salaries, which is 15.5% of payroll each month. Medical care under IGSS is very poor and it can take years to receive a surgery. Medicines are usually unavailable and families would then have to purchase them at private pharmacies (“Corruption and
retrospect to its governing authority (Shi & Singh, 2012). However, private and public agencies are the controlling constituent in today’s business. Free markets allow patients to choose providers without the prior approval of insurance companies. The current system offers a proposed plan of limited physicians in exchange for payment of services. Because the potential has been given to the payers, they regulate the cost of services rendered through contractual
I believe equality means every individual should be treated and given the same attention no matter who they are. No individual should be discriminated due to their disability. The equality act came into effect in October 2010. This is a law which protects people from being treated differently because of their disability. Equality in health care is ensuring everyone has an access to medical care despite who they are. Equality is about creating a fairer society where everyone regardless of who they are has a chance to fulfil their potential. By getting rid of prejudice and discrimination, the NHS can now distribute services that are personal, fair and diverse society which is healthier and happier.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, this was the motto of the French Revolution. It was coined by Pierre Leroux in 1838. The years 1779-1789 saw everything from the first constitution of France being drawn up, to the “Reign of Terror” in which the symbolic guillotine proved to be both the judge and the executioner. The Revolution initially started in an attempt to make the king answer to the people, in an attempt to overthrow the absolutist role and in an attempt to gain equality in all areas including taxation. The financial crisis was a burden to heavy to bear for the Third Estate. The people grew hungry which swiftly turned to rage. The lack of results led to the end of the monarchy and the execution of both King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. However, despite the bloodshed, the ideals that the French were fighting for were alive in their hearts. Liberty is the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force. In France, people were seeking liberty from the tyrannical rule of the monarch in which the Queen was using taxes to endow herself in riches. The second ideal, equality, consists of rights, treatment, quantity, or value equal to all others in a specific group. This meant getting rid of the hierarchical system and ensuring that nor the Church or nobles were exempt from taxation. The last ideal, brotherhood, means a group of people with feelings of friendship and mutual support between them. The French lacked this during the Revolution. Civil disobedience was present and very few showed camaraderie towards one another. Ten years of hardship, striving towards one common goal, sacrificing thousands of lives the French achieved what they set out to do. With great willpower and with the help of a benefac...
In the past centuries, health care was the responsibility of individuals and their own families but today Medicine comes to be an institution only as societies are more productive and people take on specialized work. At the same time as people become dependent on governments and organizations to provide them their health care and insurance, here is the problem. Social conflict analysis points out the connection between health and social inequality. Following the ideas of Karl Marx, we can match health to the operation of capitalism. Most attention has gone to three main issues: access to medical care, the effects of the profit motive, and the politics of medicine.
There will always be this controversy over things that cannot be proven; as always there are many opinions about healthcare. The biggest debate lies in the question if healthcare is considered a right or a privilege? If health care was a universal right, health care would not be the number one cause of bankruptcy. In the United States statistics, data, and experience shows health Care is offered to us as a privilege.
Reforming health care system has been a hot topic for many years. A society's commitment to health care reflects some of it's most basic values about what it is to be a member of the human community (Cockerham, 2012). Legislators have been proposing diferrent policies in an effort to solve this dilemma without significant progress. All proposals to expand insurance coverage have had certain flaws and were sometimes far from being ideal or even realistic.
Hunt, Lynn. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Exploring the French Revolution.” Ed. Jack R. Censer. N.P., 2001. Web. 27 Oct. 2013
In a society, inequalities in health outcomes, healthcare access and healthcare utilisation are caused by a myriad of factors. In order to appreciate whether an inequality is fair or unfair, and avoidable or unavoidable, we should avail ourselves to the approach proposed by Fleurbaey and Schokkaert (2009). The authors suggest that we start with a “structural model” that describes the whole social context in which a utility-maximising individual makes decisions, subject to a budget constraint. This budget constraint is determined by a range of market, insurance and economic factors: the general price level, tax levels, out-of-pocket payments, insurance coverage and insurance premiums. Individuals have a health production function that depends on factors like medical care, lifestyle choices (for instance nutrition and exercise regimes), genetic endowments, information access, socioeconomic status, and random shocks.