Health care access today is an issue in the United States because many people do not have the access to it or better coverage. I focused on answering the question, should everyone in the United States be provided with better access to health care? According to Maria Barry-Jester (reports on public health, food and culture for FiveThirtyEight) About 32 million people in the United States don’t have access to health care (2014). And about 101,000 people die each year due to the way healthcare is organized. This essay will view why the US should provide better health care, why it shouldn’t and why I believe it should. US citizens should have better access to health care The human right to health care means that everyone has the right to the …show more content…
It should guarantee a system of health protection. Which also means that everyone has the right to health care. For example, according to Forbes, a young boy named Deandre who was 7, died of a toothache because he did not get good treatment because his health care was not good. He was on Medicaid, America’s government-run health care program for the poor, so he never received proper dental care. The US should care for their people, and people who don’t make a lot of money, have poor healthcare. This story shows why the US should have better access to health care because of not doing so, more can die from having poor health care and not getting treatment fast or good. Many doctors do not treat people on Medicaid because it does not pay enough for them to treat people and many choose not to or wait long months just to get a patient’s appointment. According to Frances Robles a writer from The New York Times, in Florida, where …show more content…
Immigrants are often identified as a vulnerable population, they have an increased risk of physical, psychological, and social health outcomes and inadequate health care. Approximately a third of immigrants are in each of three of principal legal-status groups, naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, and undocumented immigrants. However, because current immigration policies place more restrictions it is harder for immigrants to have health care or good health care and it will become more of an issue when the immigration population starts to grow (Kathryn Pitkin Derose, José J. Escarce and Nicole Lurie, Health Affairs). For example, Dr Ananya Mandal from news-medical, who thinks it is important to have better access. She states “Several racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other minority groups lack adequate health insurance compared with the majority population. These individuals are more likely to delay health care and to go without the necessary health care or medication they should have been prescribed.” This demonstrates the necessity for these people to have healthcare because they do a lot for this country and not only immigrants but other races that are discriminated as well. Another reason why I believe we should have better access to healthcare it’s because of the
In conclusion, so long as immigrants with legal or illegal status, continue to pay taxes on income and contribute to Social Security, they should have health care rights. Based on the evidence provided, and proven by research, to extend current health care benefits to this population would only serve to benefit both the immigrant and native born populations. Our ethical responsibilities are mandated by our laws and have been outlined in this report.
On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications.
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
A major complaint of many against public health insurance for illegal immigrants is emergency Medicaid. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986, hospitals must provide emergency, life-saving service to those who come in regardless of citizenship status or money. If the patient does not have insurance or money to pay for medical treatment and they fulfill all of the requirements of Medicaid except citizenship, the government will pay for their healthcare (“Em...
This in turn means that 17 percent of the total United States population are Hispanics. They are a diverse ethnic group and as the years go on the population of Hispanics keeps growing; they are the fastest growing and by 2050 Hispanics will make up 30 percent of the United States’ population. They’re the highest number of uninsured among the racial/ethnic groups. Statistics show that one out of three Hispanics lack medical insurance coverage. There are more Hispanic children than there are Hispanic adults over the age of 65 and one in four of the total amount of Hispanics are non-citizens. They all continue to face troubles in health coverage and care. Hispanics are more likely to work in low-income positions as well as being more likely to work in agriculture and construction jobs. Most of these jobs do not offer health care coverage, and when they do, Hispanics cannot accept it due to their already low incomes. When it comes to Medicaid, they cover over half of Hispanic children and since more than half of all Hispanics are already said to be in low-income families, this means that they will be able to receive Medicaid just like their children are. The fathers and husbands of Hispanic families are more likely to stop their children from going to the doctor until the very last minute and are more likely themselves to not do anything until they get so sick they must go to the
28 Sep 2011. Madeline Pelner Cosman. Illegal Immigrants Threaten U.S. Health Care. At Issue: What Rights? Should Illegal Immigrants Have?
Despite the established health care facilities in the United States, most citizens do not have access to proper medical care. We must appreciate from the very onset that a healthy and strong nation must have a proper health care system. Such a health system should be available and affordable to all. The cost of health services is high. In fact, the ...
It is essential for the United States government to provide its entire citizen with a free health care. This system ensures that everyone has an access to medical services regardless to his or her social status. It is an important way of preserving life as free health care plan ensures free treatment to the entire citizen. In addition, it can play a big role of ensuring that there is an improved access to health services. Ensuring that all American citizens have an access to the right health care will in turn decrease health care costs. It can also help to stop medical bankruptcies in the entire nation. Lastly, it is one way of reducing poverty as it will lower the debt of the US which would then increase employment.
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever the nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. Each and every individual is equally entitled to their own human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible (United Nations Human Rights, 2006). In the United States today, a primary controversy that is often debated upon is whether health care is a human right or a commodity. If health care is a right, then all citizens should have equal and fair access to similar care, whether they have medical insurance and can afford it or not. If health care is a commodity, then it is like houses, cars, clothing, etc. and all citizens would have access to care that is, in essence, within their price range. Naturally, the rich and wealthy will have access to the more superior care and the poor to a lower level of care. With that being said, health care today is, in fact, a commodity for sale. Meaning that those who have more money can afford and purchase high quality health care and those who do not have as much money have to settle for less, or perhaps, none at all. It can be inferred that damage is more likely than not occurring to individuals’ self-worth and pride when inequalities proceed to exist.
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
Reforming the health care delivery system to progress the quality and value of care is indispensable to addressing the ever-increasing costs, poor quality, and increasing numbers of Americans without health insurance coverage. What is more, reforms should improve access to the right care at the right time in the right setting. They should keep people healthy and prevent common, preventable impediments of illnesses to the greatest extent possible. Thoughtfully assembled reforms would support greater access to health-improving care, in contrast to the current system, which encourages more tests, procedures, and treatments that are either
First, healthcare plays a big role in saving peoples life’s and in making them stay healthy. As an illustration, a large amount of people who enrolled lives are saved by being insured by health care (Linkins). Also, people covered by health care are being provided in multiple ways, helping them stay healthy and take care of themselves. Second, life’s matter that is why the government should give health care for free to all people. As said by Levey, “Giving more people health care could save tens of thousands of life’s nationwide” (Levey). Millions of people can be saved due to health care because they will visit the doctor on regular bases. Third, millions of people cannot afford to pay for healthcare due to high medical prices and a big part of people with extremely low income. To illustrate, “It is estimated that 1.3 millions of people worldwide lack access to health care due to being over priced” (Twikiriz 66). Healthcare can be expensive and can affect families whose income is not as much to pay for their health care insurance each month. Finally, saving life’s using medical help is not the only way life’s could be saved, but also, having the cost of healthcare lower enough to where multiple people can afford it and not stress about not being covered. As stated by Tom and Carter, “Eligibility is based on income, which must be at or under 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in states that expanded Medicaid” (DeMichele, Bastian). Lowing the cost of healthcare insurance can when possible play a big role in saving peoples lives because it will help them be able to afford to be covered by their insurance and help them get medical help without having to worry about not having the money to pay for all the medical bills. Providing free health care cannot only help all people but come with its financial issues to the
The discrepancy in providing care has a negative impact in our communities. In my opinion, the U.S. lags behind in providing quality healthcare access to all. In the context of delivery, “our healthcare system continues to emphasize care that occurs after an illness occurs, rather than preventive services that could have reduced the burden of disease…” (McHenry, 2012, p. 27). Due to poverty, lack of access and the means to purchase health insurance, individuals choose
The US health system has both considerable strengths and notable weaknesses. With a large and well-trained health workforce, access to a wide range of high-quality medical specialists as well as secondary and tertiary institutions, patient outcomes are among the best in the world. But the US also suffers from incomplete coverage of its population, and health expenditure levels per person far exceed all other countries. Poor measures on many objective and subjective indicators of quality and outcomes plague the US health care system. In addition, an unequal distribution of resources across the country and among different population groups results in poor access to care for many citizens. Efforts to provide comprehensive, national health insurance in the United States go back to the Great Depression, and nearly every president since Harry S. Truman has proposed some form of national health insurance.
In much of the developed world healthcare is a right but in America many citizens struggle to afford it still today. Healthcare is an important part of living a healthy life and if people cannot get the care that they need, they often run into problems down the road. America needs to join the rest of the modern world in providing health services for people as a right and not a privilege.