We Must Change the American Health Care System
I came to the United States sixteen years ago. Being a European, I have watched with great interest and disbelief about the ongoing disagreements regarding a socialized health care system, which President Bill Clinton has proposed. I am a native of Poland and experienced positive benefits of socialized medicine, so I can't understand why some people are so negative towards changes in the health care program. Are we really happy with our current medical insurance? I don't think so. Recent data from the Census Bureau show that "43.4 million people in the United States had no health insurance coverage" (Bennefield 1). Almost eleven million American children are uninsured as well. Adults and children don't have medical coverage because they can't afford it (1). People who do have some form of medical coverage are often unaware of the hidden costs dictated by the private insurance companies. In addition, do you recall how many times you have watched the news about people asking us for financial support because they couldn't pay their medical bill? What is wrong with this picture? Why do we have to ask for charity versus having a better health system? I strongly believe that health care should be available to anyone, and especially in America, the richest country in the world. We all want good, affordable medical coverage, but we are not getting it. Therefore, we should change the current medical system by following the example of socialized medicine in Europe, by making changes in the insurance companies, and by making preventive medicine our priority.
First of all, let me tell you what socialized medicine means. It is a public system of national health insurance where doctors are usually paid for their services by the government, and everyone is eligible for medical care without any preexisting condition. Most European countries have some form of socialized medicine. For example, in Poland the health care system is free. Employers pay 48% of a worker's monthly salary to cover not only medical care but the retirement program as well. The rest of the money for medical needs comes from the government's funds. My sister, who lives in Germany, told me that 13.1% of her monthly salary is deducted from her paycheck to cover the medical insurance. She said that she only pays about $5 for her prescriptions and about $15 per day for a hospital stay.
Sicko, a film by Michael Moore was released in 2007. The film investigates health care system in the United States. One would definitely get amazed by the facts and figures explained in this documentary. The movie explains failing health care system in the United States. America has advance medical technology, big hospitals, and educated health care professionals, but these facilities are not universal. The film starts by talking about true American stories; what some people have experienced from current health care system, those who had and did not had health insurances. The story starts by Adam, one of 50 million people in America who does not have health insurance. Due to an accident Adam required a medical treatment, but for the reason of not having any insurance he puts stitches on his leg by himself. The second story was about Rick, who accidentally cut the top of his two fingers, middle and the ring while working on the table saw. As a result of not having health insurance, Rick could not put the top of his middle finger back because it was costing 60,000 dollars and he did not had the money. So, he decided to put his ring finger back because it cost 12,000 dollars which he could afford. The movie does not go into the detail of 50 million people who do not have health insurance, but it’s about 250 million Americans who do have health insurance.
Healthcare has now become one of the top social as well as economic problems facing America today. The rising cost of medical and health insurance impacts the livelihood of all Americans in one way or another. The inability to pay for medical care is no longer a problem just affecting the uninsured but now is becoming an increased problem for those who have insurance as well. Health care can now been seen as a current concern. One issue that we face today is the actual amount of healthcare that is affordable. Each year millions of people go without any source of reliable coverage.
It 's called universal health care, and it 's a system followed by nearly every modern nation in the world and even some not-so-modern nations. In America the practice medicine is pretty awful, the health care system is very corrupt system, the politicians get richer (including Hilary Clinton), and the American people (middle class and poor) get the worst of it. You see a young mother who was diagnosed with cancer and she has to travel to Canada to get the medicine that she needs; she has to lie to get her medicine once she is in Canada, but she is willing to do it instead of continue to be denied here in the U.S. If I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the early or late 1990’s; I definitely would not receive health care coverage or my co-pay and the cost of my MS medicine would have sky
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-...
However, our system is based on money. The more money you have to spend, the better medical services you will receive. ?According to the Bureau of Labor education at the university of main (2003), America spends more money oh health care than any other nation, "$4,178 per capita on health care in 1998?, compared to the average of $1,783. (BLE., 2003, p.23). Still an estimated "42.5 million Americans are living without health insurance", which prevents them from receiving medical treatment. (Climan, Scharff, 2003, p.33). The numbers of un-insured Americans continue to rise. Tim Middleton (2002) states, ?insurance premiums grow at a rate greater than wages,? when you have a low-income job. (¶ 9). With our current economy recession, taxes are rising and small business employers are unable to purchase health plans for their employees. Employees are realizing that they are unable to gain insurance from their jobs and beginning to speak out about the high price of health care.
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?
One belief is that the U.S. can simply not afford to cover the uninsured, even though other countries have proven this wrong (Palmer 1999). 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. Lastly, a fifth reason Americans disfavor universal health care is because conservative lawmakers have poisoned their minds with the belief that it would mean lower salaries, higher taxes, longer wait times, and run-down government hospital facilities (Light 2003). Due to the information received by legislation and put out there on the media, it’s no surprise why, in the year 2015, lawmakers are still debating universal health care and trying to repeal the Affordable 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.
America is facing a healthcare crisis! In town hall meetings across America, brawls have broken out during speeches given in an attempt to promote government run healthcare. When looking at the big picture, healthcare is only a small portion of the current problems, but a very big one, in the eyes of Americans, considering how it affects every citizen. The healthcare system in the United States is experiencing hard times, but does that mean, we, as Americans, should just step aside and let government take over? Absolutely not! Government will claim that the numbers of uninsured Americans are high because of the prices insurance companies charge, but are these numbers correct and who makes up these numbers? What will a government run healthcare service provide as far as doctors and treatments are concerned? Where do we think the money to run government healthcare will come from? Americans can help turn the economy around by eliminating this healthcare crisis from the list of many. Americans should stop government from passing such a bill for government run healthcare, and let government know exactly what we need and how we need it done.
What Seems To Be The Problem? A discussion of the current problems in the U.S. healthcare system.
When it comes to health matters, everyone becomes attentive. People believe that with good health, one can virtually accomplish anything that they desire. This is the reason to as why health is given all the attention. It is important to have a clear understanding of the meaning of the term health, healthcare and systems that are put in place to facilitate healthcare.
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,
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.
An issue that is widely discussed and debated concerning the United States’ economy is our health care system. The health care system in the United States is not public, meaning that the states does not offer free or affordable health care service. In Canada, France and Great Britain, for example, the government funds health care through taxes. The United States, on the other hand, opted for another direction and passed the burden of health care spending on individual consumers as well as employers and insurers. In July 2006, the issue was transparency: should the American people know the price of the health care service they use and the results doctors and hospitals achieve? The Wall Street Journal article revealed that “U.S. hospitals, most of them nonprofit, charged un-insured patients prices that vastly exceeded those they charged their insured patients. Driving their un-insured patients into bankruptcy." (p. B1) The most expensive health care system in the world is that of America. I will talk about the health insurance in U.S., the health care in other countries, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, and my solution to this problem.
Huntoon, see socialized medicine as no different from a robin hood scenario-stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Some go to the extreme of calling socialism an act of communism. This is like comparing Norway, the happiest country on the Earth, to Nazi Germany. Socialism and communism have no correlation. Communism is a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state-dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party (dictionary.com). Socialism differs from communism because a communist government is totalitarian state-dominated and all socialism does is gives control of, in this case, medicine. The doctors and patients still have a voice when socialized medicine applies. Not only would the people become healthier, but they would also not have to empty their pockets to pay for a doctor’s visit. The people would keep themselves to a higher standard of health the cost of a single doctor’s visit no longer stands as a concern. Norway, a country that has established socialized medicine, has a higher health care system index than the United States. The quality of the health care in Norway is ranked ninth in the world, but the United States falls extremely short of that, coming in at forty-first (Nationmaster). This statistic exemplifies the correlation between socialized medicine and the quality of health care. A success story, like Norway’s, paves the way for the United States to