Almost 20 percent of American citizens do not have healthcare insurance. An even greater number of citizens are underinsured. Consequently, a large number of Americans receive very little to no healthcare. A large number of these citizens are women and children. Many of those who are uninsured are hard working families who just don’t have a large enough income to afford coverage, yet, make too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's healthcare provider. In a society, such as ours, it is a shame that we don’t provide what I consider should be a basic human right, to all of our citizens equally. The quality or level of healthcare should be an inalienable right afforded to all people, not a privilege of the few. Money shouldn’t be what dictates who should live in good health while others suffer in pain and anguish. The lack of equal healthcare is one of the greatest social inequalities in society today. A single payer healthcare system would be a huge step towards leveling out the playing field for everyone. A single payer system is one in which a single entity secures and pays for everyone’s healthcare needs. Providing universal and uniform healthcare for everyone, regardless of standing or race, can only advance our civilization. The common good is served best by serving all. However, money dictates the rules when it comes to U.S. healthcare today. So as healthcare continues to thrive and profit off of its customers, a single payer system will never come to be. Insurance companies, lawyers, agents, medical suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and even hospitals all compete for profits in a cutthroat fashion. They consume an excess of one-third of the Gross Domestic Product, in the U.S. Yet, people are constantl... ... middle of paper ... ...l spend on medical care you will spend in the last few months of your life. If other nations can provide universal healthcare for its citizens, why can't we? Works Cited "Should the Government Provide Free Universal Health Care for All Americans?" BalancedPolitics.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . "Right to Health Care ProCon.org." Right to Health Care ProCon.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . "Universal Health Care." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . "Five Arguments for Universal Health Care Democrats Should Be Making." The Weeklings. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .
One of the most controversial topics in the United States in recent years has been the route which should be undertaken in overhauling the healthcare system for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured. It is important to note that the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare affordable; it provides low-cost, government-subsidized insurance options through the State Health Insurance Marketplace (Amadeo 1). Our current president, Barack Obama, made it one of his goals to bring healthcare to all Americans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This plan, which has been termed “Obamacare”, has come under scrutiny from many Americans, but has also received a large amount of support in turn for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include a decrease in insurance discrimination on the basis of health or gender and affordable healthcare coverage for the millions of uninsured. The opposition to this act has cited increased costs and debt accumulation, a reduction in employer healthcare coverage options, as well as a penalization of those already using private healthcare insurance.
health care, only those who are “privileged” enough to afford health care can receive it. So is this what health care in the United States is and should be?Arnold Schwarzenegger the former Governor of California stated “Health care is not a right, but its cause is a government interference in the healthcare system. The solution is to leave doctors, patients and insurance companies free to deal with each other on whatever terms they choose, not to socialize American medicine” (Russo). Schwarzenegger then went on about how this would cost the government too much money and that this is not the answer to the healthcare improvement (Russo). Sen. Shelia Keuhl, the senator that wrote the bill stated in a press release “It’s important to understand that vetoes of health reform legislation have very serious consequences […] Because of these vetoes, there will continue to be very little regulation of the runaway health insurance market and no protections for consumers”
In the modern day, health care can be a sensitive subject. Politically, health care in America changes depending on whom is President. Obamacare and Trumpcare are different policies regarding health care, which many people have passionate feelings towards. However, not many Americans are informed about Norman Daniels’ view on health care. Throughout this paper I will be outlining Norman Daniels’ claims on the right to health care, and the fundamental principles in which he derives to construct his argument. By means of evaluating Daniels’ argument, I will then state my beliefs regarding the distributive justice of health care.
The facts bear out the conclusion that the way healthcare in this country is distributed is flawed. It causes us to lose money, productivity, and unjustly leaves too many people struggling for what Thomas Jefferson realized was fundamental. Among industrialized countries, America holds the unique position of not having any form of universal health care. This should lead Americans to ask why the health of its citizens is “less equal” than the health of a European.
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.
Even during the worst economic downturn, the advantages of a universal health care system remain hidden from society. Instead, the adverse impacts continue to occupy the minds of many Americans. Misguidedly, citizens are repeatedly ensnared into ideological disputes inc...
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.
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 ...
...oral responsibility to our communities and our fellow citizens. We can’t in good conscience stand by as millions of our neighbors are denied to basic health care. Nearly 1,500 public events were taken place in all fifty states and the District of Columbia to bring commonly community leaders to retain that all Americans have rights to health care coverage. “For far too many years, our nation has not lived up to its full potential by delaying the day when all Americans will have health care coverage.” (Suffer Health Care Gaps as a Result) Health care is a right, not a privilege.
In America the affordability and equality of access to healthcare is a crucial topic of debate when it comes to one's understanding of healthcare reform. The ability for a sick individual to attain proper treatment for their ailments has reached the upper echelons of government. Public outcry for a change in the handling of health insurance laws has aided in the establishment of the Affordable Healthcare Law (AHCL) to ensure the people of America will be able to get the medical attention they deserve as well as making that attention more affordable, as the name states. Since its creation, the AHCL has undergone scrutiny towards its effects on the government and its people; nevertheless, the new law must not be dismantled due to its function as a cornerstone of equal-opportunity healthcare, and if such a removal is allowed, there will be possibly detrimental effects on taxes, the economy, and poor people.
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.
...ity, as well as inequalities in education, employment, and housing, all contribute to health discrepencies. Health care reform, as envisioned within the ACA, should be viewed as treatment of the symptoms of an unequal system, not treatment of the cause. To speak metaphorically, America has a pre-existing condition of institutional racism. Capitalist structure, political climate and discourse, and notions of imperialism, deny treatment. The Affordable Care Act addresses this condition as a localized disease, rather than a systemic one, that’s cause is rooted in the hegemonic reproduction of ideological superstructures. Only when health care is treated as a basic right, rather than an economic commodity, and health disparites are recognized in a greater political context, can health reform offer an opportunity to overcome racial disparities and achieve health equity.
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.
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.