preview

Argumentative Essay On Health Care

Decent Essays

The United States spends more money on health care per person than any other country in the world (Brink, 2017) however this does not necessarily translate to better health. Among the 35 developed nations that make up the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States continually ranks near the bottom on most standard measures of health. Life expectancy in the United States is currently 78.8 years, which is several years lower than the average of 82 years reported in comparable countries. Although the U.S. spends more on health care than any other country and has the highest proportion of specialist physicians, survey findings indicate that from the patients’ perspective, and based on outcome indicators, the …show more content…

Regardless of how advanced our medical technology may be, it is no help to those who cannot afford it. The average wage for Americans is $7.25 to $10.00 per hour, this puts most households in a state of limbo because, if employed fulltime, they make too much for government assistance, yet too little to afford private health insurance. In most cases, private health insurance can easily cost over $13,000.00 a year for a family of four, when the typical family lives on a yearly salary of less than $25,000.00, there is no way to afford it. Sadly. most people must decide between paying bills or getting medical treatment, this leads to simple, easily treatable illnesses developing too much more serious …show more content…

For instance, the story of Tom J., a young father of two who is employed as a manager at a local restaurant from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. His employer does not offer health insurance and he can't afford to pay out of pocket for it. Tom's wife stays home with their children because they cannot pay for the high cost of daycare so their single income household lives paycheck to paycheck. One day after work, Tom dropped a piece of wood on his foot, there was a large cut that needed stitches and some serious bruising. Since the family doesn't have healthcare and Tom knows he can't afford an emergency room visit, his wife cleans the wound and closes it with the butterfly closures from their first aid kit. After a week the area is still not healed and has begun to get infected, Tom considers going to a doctor's office, but with an average cost of over $100.00 per visit, it isn't feasible. He continues to work regularly even though he is in extreme pain and starting to get very ill because his family needs the money for household bills and groceries. When his wife went to get him up for work one Tuesday, Tom was too sick to move so she called an ambulance to take him to the local hospital. It turns out that Tom had broken two bones in his foot, as well as needing stitches. What should have been a simple fix has now turned into a severe infection, that could result in the loss of Tom's foot.

Get Access