Despite the horror of a third of Americans without the ability to receive effective care, the true tragedy lies in the approach, taken by the state Missouri, to "combat" this national crisis. Instead of increasing support for public health, Missouri neglects its citizenry and spends ~$5.86 per person (“Missouri Public Health Spending Is the Lowest in the Country”). This paper will explain the immorality behind Missouri's constant apathy towards those unable to gain access to healthcare, and Missouri's aloofness in tackling the discrepancies in access to healthcare between different ethnicities. According to Kant, this disregarding for human well being and inequality destroys the dignity of the human individual and breaks the categorical imperative. This paper will explain the national healthcare access and inequality crisis, its impact on society, and moral implications. Immanuel Kant's ethical principles will serve as the moral judge to Missouri's practices and a source for change.
In December of 2013, the CDC revealed the findings from a National Health Interview Survey concerning the possession of health insurance and the availability of access to treatment. Based on their survey, the CDC discovered 5% of their interviewees could not receive access to physician treatment within the last 12 months, due to physician refusal to accept new patients (2.1%) or their health care coverage (2.9%). At the same time 2.1% of the data body experienced difficulty "finding a general doctor" (“Products - Data Briefs - Number 138 - December 2013”). These Americans represent a small amount of the vast population in need of healthcare coverage. The article, "Young Adults Seeking Medical Care: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter," reveals the full e...
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...uld validate the state of Missouri's actions. For the social contract theorist, since the government was given the power of legal authority by the people, they have the right to define what is just and unjust (morality) for the commonwealth. Since the government (sovereign) decreed the cuts to public health, the action is moral. Like the divine command theorists, Kant would argue the social contract theorists have sacrificed their freedom to an alien will by allowing the sovereign to determine the morality for all. This act is not done in respect for the moral law, and therefore not in line with one's moral duty. Accordingly, the action is not morally right. To continue, the unequal access to healthcare breaks the categorical imperative by denying the dignity of the human person through unequal access. As a result, the social contract theorist's maxim is immoral.
Healthcare in the United States is an extremely often discussed topic on whether it is morally a right or just a charity to those who cannot afford it. Plenty claim that health care is too expensive and not affordable so they demand aid from the government. On the other hand, the rest presume that the state is not morally accountable to take this type of action, since not every citizen and human being is equally eligible to receive the same healthcare.
I find that Rawls’ Contract Theory and the “fair equality of opportunity” principle provide a convincing and logical argument for Daniels’ stance on the distribution of health care. On the other hand, for a utilitarian or a natural law theorist Daniels’ logic is contradicting nonetheless. Yet, it is still feasible for either of these theorists to support Daniels’ claim to the distribution of adequate health care to everyone. Despite my contradiction to Daniels’ logic leading to his claim, I concur to the societal right to adequate health
Leighton Ku (2009) researched the lack of health care for immigrants in the United States. Ku stated that “The high costs of health care and the erosion of health insurance coverage are two important long-term challenges that confront all Americans but these problems are especially acute for immigrants
Imagine the burning shame and crippling self-consciousness you would feel if you had to walk around with one of your front teeth cracked for over a month simply because your parents couldn’t afford to get it treated promptly. Now multiply that intense feeling of embarrassment three-fold, since this happened to a very image-conscious, fourteen-year-old me three days before my first day of high school. As both a minority and as someone who comes from an economically disadvantaged background, I have had experiences that have shaped me to understand the frustration and stigma that is associated with not having the privilege of access to health care simply because of where you live and your financial situation. My experiences have also made me aware of the importance of diversity in
The United States spends vast amounts on its healthcare, while falling short of achieving superiority over other developed nations. One cannot overlook that the deepening recession has left many without jobs and therefore lacking health insurance. According to Fairhall and Steadman, (2009), even though the recession is hard on all, it is worse on the uninsured due to health care and insurance cost rising faster than incomes. Nevertheless, even those with jobs are lacking in health insurance due to employers, who provide insurance, are increasingly dropping their sponsored insurance. Many find that purchasing a health policy or paying for medical care out-of-pocket is cost prohibitive. “Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of unemployed Americans has increased by 3.6 million,” (Fairhall & Steadman, 2009). In 2009 it was stated that approximately 46 million Americans were uninsured, however not all of that number is due to the inability to afford coverage. According to a 2009 story written by Christopher Weaver of Kaiser Health News, 43% of that number should be classified as “voluntarily” uninsured. This subset of uninsured Americans consist of nearly half being young and healthy; therefo...
The film Sicko (2007), is about the misfortune and distress associated with the American health care system and how it compares to those in several foreign countries where universal health care is the norm. The audience explores Moore’s rhetorical strategies and how he represents the issue of health care, with the goal of gaining support from the rest of society for his cause. Michael Moore made this film that has the purpose to especially inform the American audience about the current health system in America and the terrible system created in America that is sometimes deadly. The filmmaker used emotion, reason, creditable people, counter arguments and humor/irony to develop his argument that the American health system is terrible to citizens.
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 ...
According to Penner et al. (2013), there are various causes of healthcare disparities, such as socioeconomic status; this results to poor healthcare services for people with low socioeconomic status, as people with low pay find it difficult to leave their work to seek healthcare help, or to afford healthcare insurance (p.4). The second cause is language proficiency. The language barriers faced by the immigrant plays a role in the healthcare disparities among the racial or ethnic minority patients. Another cause is health literacy. The levels of the health literacy among the foreign born individuals can be influenced by their higher level of distrust of the healthcare providers and healthcare system than they have towards Caucasian people. This, in turn, leads them to seek healthcare information less often than their Caucasian counterparts, thus hindering the provision of quality services, as well as limiting the foreign patients’ ability to manage their health conditions effectively. The foreigners’ failure to easily accept the information provided to them by healthcare providers puts them at risk. Disentangling the role of health literacy in racial healthcare disparities from the effects of racial attitudes and beliefs is often hard (Penner et al,
Racial disparities in The United States health care system are widespread and well documented. Social and economic inequalities between racial minorities and their white counter parts have lead to lower life expectancy rates, higher infant mortality rates, and overall poorer health for people of color. As the nation’s population continues to become increasingly diverse, these disparities are likely to grow if left unaddressed. The Affordable Care Act includes various provisions that specifically aim to reduce inequalities for racially and ethnically marginalized groups. These include provisions in the Senate bill and House bill that aim to expand coverage, boost outreach and education programs, establish standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate practices, and diversify the health care workforce. The ACA, while not a perfect solution for eliminating health disparities, serves as an important first step and an unprecedented opportunity to improve health equity in the United States.
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-...
Healthcare is one of the major issues that America faces today. The health insurance companies are destroying America’s health care system by raising their premiums and deductibles. One great concern, access to health care is definitely on the decline. As of 2007, more than 75 million adults-42 percent of all adults ages 19 to 64- were either uninsured or underinsured (Commonwealth Fund Commission 9). The health care system in America needs a complete overhaul, reform.
I emphasize the “doctor and patient” example because it is a common issue I frequently read, happening in those Countries that do not offer free access to cares. Italy grants open access to medical care, both Emergency and General Practitioner and of course we are lucky. In the contrary, it is a source of public debate because of its huge costs in the National expense balance. To cut straight to the point, there are endless polemics about the definition of “basic cares”, so that this diatribe obfuscates essential ethics. Again, Kant's theories start to help us, since humankind is not a mean, and money is not an universal end. I know the Italian reality and our system ought to focus on its organization, rather than the reduction of its care assistance. Evidence of this is the following organizational chart of the Italian health care system; it looks complex, do you agree? To the other side, even if there are some things to fix, it demonstrates that it can be achieved (cit. Commonwealth
According to healthypeople.gov, a person’s ability to access health services has a profound effect on every aspect of his or her health, almost 1 in 4 Americans do not have a primary care provider or a health center where they can receive regular medical services. Approximately 1 in 5 A...
Health insurance facilitates entry into the health care system. Uninsured people are less likely to receive medical care and more likely to have poor health. Many Americans are foregoing medical care because they cannot afford it, or are struggling to pay their medical bills. “Adults in the US are more likely to go without health care due to cost” (Schoen, Osborn, Squires, Doty, & Pierson, 2010) Many of the currently uninsured or underinsured are forced accept inferior plans with large out-of-pocket costs, or are not be able to afford coverage offered by private health insurers. This lack of adequate coverage makes it difficult for people to get the health care they need and can have a particularly serious impact on a person's health and stability.
The human right to health means that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, which includes access to all medical services, sanitation, adequate food, healthy working conditions, and a clean environment. (“What is the Human Right to Health and Health Care”, n.d.). Health should be a human right and should have access to all people. It will also show that all human beings are treated equally. Many people ask this question is Health a human right? Should people have given access to human right? I believe that health should be a human right because it provides quality of life, encourage equity, provide prevention and awareness and eliminate discrimination among people.