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Why the us needs universal health care
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Jillian, You argue that health care is a right not a privilege and that the United States should have universal health care. The arguments you made for universal health care are: the rising costs of healthcare premiums and the economic burdens that is placing on Americans in choosing whether or not they can seek medical care and price control on prescriptions and health care would be regulated. You mentioned that other countries with universal health care have a much higher tax rate than the United States, but do not believe that the United States would have to follow suit, due to keeping health care costs regulated. I would argue that taxes would certainly rise for Americans. Regardless of regulating costs for health care, it would still need
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.
Universal health care refers to any system of health care managed by the government. The health care system may cover different programs including government run hospitals and health organizations and programs targeted at providing health care. Many developed countries such as Canada and United Kingdom have embraced universal health care with the United States being the only exception. The present U.S health care system has often been considered inefficient in terms of cost control as millions of Americans remain uncovered. This has made it the subject of a heated debate characterized by people who argue that the country requires a kind of socialized system that will permit increased government participation. Others have tended to support privatized health care, or a combined model of private and universal health care that will permit private companies to offer health care for a specific fee. Universal healthcare has numerous advantages that remain hidden from society. First, the federal government can apply economies of scale in managing health facilities which would reduce health care expenses. Second, all unnecessary expenses would be eliminated by requiring all states to bring together all the insurance companies into a single entity whose mandate would be to provide health insurance to all people. Lastly, increased government participation will guarantee quality care, improve access to medical services and address critical problems relating to market failure.
These situations have many tough decision and opportunity costs to think about. With universal health care specifically, one must consider the pros and cons of potentially adopting a plan of this magnitude. Looking at the positive side, everyone in the U.S. would be guaranteed healthcare. No matter the amount of wealth or immigration status, everyone is covered by the U.S. government under a single payer system. Americans would be entitled to any medical necessity such as emergencies, check-ups, screenings, treatments, rehabs, and medications (“Bernie Sanders on Healthcare”). Now at what cost one may ask? Surely cost would increase right? Actually, medical cost would become overall cheaper for one to pay according to one proposed plan. Given that more Americans will be paying, less will be required to pay per person to cover the expenses (“Bernie Sanders on Healthcare”). Additionally, with more insured Americans, overall public health will improve and lead to more eligible working Americans. In the long term, this plan will help grow and stimulate the economic growth that the United States has been looking for so desperately. To add on to economic growth, this proposed plan will create jobs in the medical field and lift the financial burden off businesses. This means businesses would no longer be required to pay health benefits to their employees. Instead, businesses can focus on investing into their company’s growth and infrastructure (“Health Care for All”). Lastly, by adopting a universal health care system, Americans would no longer have to deal with medical bankruptcies. All expenses and bills would be covered by the U.S. government ("Right to Health Care ProCon.org”). This would leave the American people to focus on paying for other essential expenses and living costs. Now why hasn’t the U.S. adopted a similar plan already? First, one must consider the potential flaws in a
Americans, throughout the course of history, have been told false information regarding universal health care obscures many from demanding such access. A second belief, which is mostly believed by medical professionals, is that they will lose more power than what they have already lost under corporate managed care, yet universal health care elsewhere has given the profession more power and flexibility. A third belief is that universal health care means that it is based solely on a single-tax payer system, which is completely false, as many countries operate on different systems. A fourth, erroneous belief held by many Americans is that the U.S. is simply too large to take lessons from smaller countries on health care.
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.
The World Health Organization defines universal health care as, “ensuring that all people can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.” This means that every citizen of a country will have access to health care; if someone cannot attain it themselves, then the government will provide it. This topic is controversial because the state provides health care funding for every citizen; it can easily be described as being socialistic. Also, without state provided care, every citizen may not have access to the level of care needed due to costs. This topic is especially relevant because thirty two of the thirty three developed nations have universal health care with the United States as the exception. However, recently the United States has adopted the Affordable Care Act, which possess traits of universal health care. Universal health care is not a good choice for society for three reasons. The first is that it lowers quality of care. Also, the whole system and the way it is set up could certainly be a burden on taxpayers and the government which could lead to some major debts. Third, it would be easy for people to abuse the system.
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.
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.
One of the most commonly debated topics in recent American history has been that of health care. Would Americans be able to reap more benefits if individuals continue to be independent in their pursuits of health care, or would it be beneficial for all if the government introduced more regulations regarding health care, changing our system to resemble those of other developed countries? As more solutions are offered, it becomes harder for people to reach a consensus on the best way to approach this issue. Despite this, America must decide what system of healthcare will benefit the most citizens and improve the quality of life the most. It is becoming increasingly apparent that a universal healthcare system would be the most effective and
In the argument for universal healthcare states that it is a constitutional right. In the preamble to the constitution it states that all citizens are granted life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If citizens did not receive universal health care then they would not be granted their constitutional rights because healthcare would be under life and the pursuit of happiness. another argument for universal healthcare is according to a 2009 study from Harvard researchers universal healthcare could actually save lives because lack of health insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths. They also found that 13,000 deaths that occur each year with people within the 55-64 year range were due to lack of health insurance. People also argue that we could have more entrepreneurs except people do not want to leave their jobs because they will lose their
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-...
Health care can benefit everyone and their different income values. Health care should be required and the risk of spending on insurance should be taken even if many Americans believe they do not need health insurance. There are always possibilities of emergencies occurring and in need of insurance for the high costs of medical care. I personally believe and argued my opinion that health care needs to be required for everyone. To conclude my argument, I have argued that there are more benefits to have healthcare insurance required and that everyone in America deserves a happy and healthy
A contentious issue exists in the United States over the question of universal health care. Universal health care refers to system of health care in which all citizens of a given country receive medical coverage and care. Many find this system to be unnecessary and do not like the idea for paying for other people’s coverage, while others support universal health care because more people will be able to receive medical service. This is an ethical issue because the question is raised whether an institution, such as private businesses or the government, should be required to provide medical care to all citizens. Many see the role of medical institutions as providing care to anyone who walks through their door, but this is difficult if that person
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 of whether 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 show that health care is offered to us as a privilege. CONFIDENTIAL: If we look to the ideas of the past about what should be a universal right, the ideas that the Enlightenment painted for men were pretty straight forward.