A Less Effective And Expensive Healthcare System

A right to adequate healthcare is necessary for a society to flourish. According to Levinas ' explanation, businesses assume that self-interest drives human behavior and if people want health care that badly then they will pay what it costs (Degnim and Wood 2007 page 6).Yet, if someone cannot afford healthcare and are denied it, then they are being denied a human right. According to United Nations healthcare is considered a human right (United Nations Article 25 2014). Well, the denial of healthcare or inadequate healthcare for Americans is a complex problem today. Healthcare has not been accessible to all American citizens, at least not until recent changes were made to the healthcare system. On the other hand, Belgium has had universal coverage for its citizens long before America. A large part of Belgium 's healthcare is non private, unlike the USA. I will discuss the healthcare system of the USA and Belgium in terms of the four characteristics of a healthcare system: cost effectiveness, portability and choice, quality, and universal care. I will also discuss the American healthcare reform as an expansion of the former healthcare system.

The United States is known as one of the greatest world powers: however it is held back by its weak healthcare system. As of 2010 the US healthcare system currently ranks the 37th best out of 190 countries (Murray). Before the introduction of the Affordable Care Ac in 2010, the United States had an individual insurance market. It was the responsibility of the individual or their employer to take care of their healthcare costs. On top of this, millions of people could be denied insurance by different agencies due to pre-existing claims. Healthcare was expensive, but the costs were nothing compared to the medical bills owed by an uninsured person. Universal healthcare is a basic right not a privilege. Everyone should be given the

Health care is not a privilege. In fact, a good level and quality on healthcare should be an inalienable right for all people. Social class, status or economic situation shouldn’t dictate who live and enjoy of good health or who doesn’t. Healthcare in America should be universal, continuous, and affordable to all individuals and families. Although some of the states in the US are taking unilateral measures not to focus exclusively on the poor, but seeks to guarantee health access to any uninsured people, achieving universal coverage will require federal leadership and support, regardless of which strategy is adopted to achieve this

As Americans we should all be afforded access to healthcare. Access to healthcare is an individual right according to the human rights amendment. The human right to health guarantees a system of health protection for all. 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, decent housing, healthy working conditions and a clean environment (What is the Human Right to Health and Health Care, 2015). However there are strengths and weaknesses to every healthcare system and the U.S. Healthcare system is not exempt. I plan to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the U. S. Healthcare system (What is the Human Right to Health and Health Care, 2015).

The government would be the sole determiner of the number of medical professionals that could work.”( Creech, Mark H. “Universal Health Care Is Unbiblical. ) Is access to health care a human right, or a valued social good, or neither? In 2003 the Institute of Medicine published a report, Insuring America's Health, which contained five principles for evaluating various strategies for health care reform. The first principle, "the most basic and important," was that health care coverage should be universal. The idea that access to health care should be universal, however, has become one of the most hotly debated issues in the ongoing discussion of how to reform the U.S. healthcare system. In Opposing Viewpoints: Universal Health Care, authors explores the

Healthcare in the United States! Now that is a question for the ages. Is Healthcare a right or a privilege? Ask 10 people and you will get 10 different answers. Some say yes some say no, however almost all have caveats to their answers. This is where the dilemma starts.

Leonard Peikoff, “Health Care Is Not Right” and Andrew Bradley “Positive rights, negative rights and health care” debate the morality of a government funded health care system. Although both authors give ample evidence in support of their posture on this matter, Andrew Bradley presents a more clear and concise reasoning that supports his belief that “health care is a human right and …should be guaranteed” (Bradley 1). He effectively reveals the fallacies of Peikoff’s “negative rights” and “positive rights” assertion by examining the correlation between the two.

A sensitive topic in the United States today revolves around the issue of healthcare. Is health care a basic human right or is it just a privilege to those who are able to afford it? Health care in the United States is in desperate need of reform. The Affordable Care Act takes that stance that health care is in fact a basic human right and that everyone should have health insurance. When the term “basic human rights” is used, most people think of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This doesn’t necessarily mean that people should be forced to sustain others’ lives, or that they have the responsibility to make others happy because they have a “right” to pursue happiness. You are born with these basics rights that no

The Declaration of independence even states that all men have "unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… ". Take that how you want, but I think Thomas Jefferson was trying to tell us something.

In the United States, health care is perceived as more of a privilege than a

One of the great hypocrisies of American culture is found in its health care system. The United States claims in its Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” and that all of these men have the inalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet this is the same country that allows over 120 people to die each day because they are uninsured. How can this nation claim that all are created equal and have a right to life when they deny healthcare to those who cannot afford it? This issue has come on the scene relatively soon, having only truly been discussed beginning in the early 20th century. Since that time, a fear of socialism stemming from tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the century has placed a stigma on the concept of universal health care because it is similar to the Soviet’s socialized medicine. In recent years, President Obama made great strides toward universal health care by passing the Affordable Care Act, but some would argue that while America is on the right track, more can be done to care for the nation’s poor. Others argue that the economic impact of such policies could cause problems for America. Though creating a universal health care system has complex logistical and economic consequences, health care is an internationally acknowledged human right and should not be denied to the American people.

The rising cost of health care has led companies to stop offering health insurance for employees, and private insurance is often too expensive for people to afford. Many families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but are unable to pay for private health insurance. Health care costs in the United States have more than doubled in the last twenty years. Insurance premiums are rising five times faster than wages, and Americans are spending more money on health care than people in any other country. The average amount one person pays per year for health care in the United States is 134 times higher than the average of other industrialized countries (“Health Care Issues”). Even people who have insurance aren’t guaranteed coverage. Many insurance companies find loopholes to avoid paying for expensive medical treatment, leaving people with massive debt from medical bills. Medical bills and illness cause over half of all personal bankruptcies in the United

As humans, the right to medical care is something that should be seen as a privilege. No one should have to worry about if they are able to receive the healthcare that they require. Everyone has the right to receive the care that they should need. The only way to provide equal care for everyone in America is if healthcare were to be free. Though many countries around the world are able to provide free healthcare, this is something that is unfortunately not possible for all countries. There would be many issues that would arise if free healthcare were provided here in America. Due to the fact that quality care would be difficult to find, taxes would be increased, and much more, health care should not be free.

Another benefit associated with free health care system is that it preserves life as it ensures free treatment to the entire citizens despite their financial status. Apparently, the life of a human being is sacred and incomparable with any amount of money. It is unethical for an individual to die due to lack of finance. As stated by Obama, the United States is known to have the most skilled doctors and healthcare facilities in the world (526). Ironically, the two third of the Americans have no access to health insurance cover, meaning, they cannot afford to get the health services from the best doctors and the best facilities in the country. To protect life and to avoid unnecessary deaths of the innocent citizens, free access to medical services should be a distinct system to be employed in the United States of America.

The ethical right for individuals to have access to health care already has a form of legal binding within the United States as seen in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. “In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which forbids Medicare-participating hospitals from “dumping” patients out of emergency departments” (Pozgar, 2010, p. 221). The act provides that: