Access to Healthcare as a Universal Right

as a fundamental right to its citizens, whether it should be a privilege to purchase from a private company, or whether it is the responsibility of each individual to purchase for themselves and their dependents. Before investigating all aspects of each of these concepts, the terms need to be clearly defined. According to Merriam-Webster, right is defined as “morally or socially correct or acceptable; agreeing with the facts or truth; speaking, acting, or judging in a way that agrees with the facts or truth”. Privilege is defined as “a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others; a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud; the advantage that wealthy and powerful people have over other people in a society”. Finally, Responsibility is defined as “the state of being the person who caused something to happen; a duty or task that you are required or expected to do; something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required” (Merriam-Webster).

Healthcare as a Right

Universal health coverage is a system which aims at ensuring that ensure that all people obtain the health services they require without suffering financial hardship when paying for them. (World Health Organization). Healthcare access helps to protect against the extremely high costs of catastrophic accidents and illnesses. According to an article published by the American Journal of Public Health, Americans who possess insurance are more likely to have recommended services such as screening, are less likely to suffer from chronic conditions, and are less likely to receive substandard medical services (Wilper, Woolhandler, Lasser, McCor-mick, Bor, & Himmelstein, 2009). Given the increased humanity held by individuals with in-surance, many would say that healthcare is a necessity for all individuals.

The most compelling argument for advocating a universal healthcare program in the United States is that it may prove logical to follow a model that has been proven effective in other developed countries. The United States healthcare system has been named an outlier among the world's wealthiest nations due to the fact that it is the only country to not provide its citizens with a universal healthcare coverage guarantee (Schimmel, 2013). The countries that have implemented a system of guaranteeing coverage for everyone include but are not limited to Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, and Taiwan. Although the system slightly varies between each country, there are a few fundamental aspects that are seen in each system.