Running head: HEALTH CARE ISSUES: RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE
Health Care Issue: Right of Privilege
“America is the technological superpower, the wealthiest nation in the world, and spends significantly more of its gross national product, and spends more per person, than any other nation in the world on health care. So where, then, does America stand on health?” (Lerner & Loman, 2005, p. 1). The purpose of this essay is to discuss and explore whether U.S. health care should be a right or a privilege. Many Americans feel that although the United States leads most of the world in medical advances and technology, the healthcare system is broken. A great number of people go without the care
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The problem with Healthcare is that it cannot be solved without violating the Constitution. If health care is a right, it will also be a responsibility and an obligation to the government to ensure every person receives proper and equal medical care at any medical facility regardless of race, religion, status, preexisting conditions or age. Public proposals of universal healthcare for every citizen have been the focus of much political debate. Children do not have the right to choose an insurance plan for themselves, and many parents do not want or qualify for insurance. Clearly, justice for these children and others in a similar situation demands a health insurance plan that covers them, even if their parents choose not to be covered. Healthcare: A Privilege Health care in America is not a right. Health care is a product that can be purchased by an individual or by an employer for an employee. Most of the nonsensical labeling of it being a right is just another tactic to make the working tax paying citizens pay for those who cannot or will not provide for themselves. Many times people who are crying loudly about their rights are those who want others to provide them free services and goods. Everyone has access to health care; however, not everyone is willing to pay for it. Being poor or old is not an excuse. Medicare and Medicaid already cover those groups. It is not the working taxpaying citizen who is crying for
Systems of stratification are considered to be systems set in place, whether intended or unintended, to prevent people in the working class to move upwards and to slow the growth of social equality. This system hinders life chances of those who do not have access to wealth, power, or property. Opportunities for individuals that have less are greatly diminished. Those who live in poverty do not have the means to engage in certain activities, due to the lack of resources and funding needed. Some children are unable to achieve certain goals simply because of where they live or are placed in the social hierarchy. For example, a child of above average intelligence living in a government run housing project may not be afforded as much opportunity to excel as a child who lives in an upper class gated community. Some social scientists believe that the poor generally suffer from something called “culture of poverty” in which attitudes of the poor develop and ingrain the acceptance of their conditions within a community,
There will always be a debate over what is considered fair healthcare in America. As long as there is no national healthcare system that is equal for everyone, there will be arguments over whether it is a right or a privilege. Research will show that healthcare is a basic right for every human being in the world, and that by having a national healthcare system in America, this right can be
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.
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
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.
America, said to be the land of the free and opportunity, home of the brave, and yet the country of healthcare inequality. America is ruled by a principle “law of the land”, but the criterias that fall under the dominant law does not faithfully support American citizens. Moberg argues that the U.S does not have the best healthcare system in the world despite its best researchers, doctors and facilities. (“Rx for U.S. Health"). This is an issue because if the country has the best aspects of an effective healthcare system, why are the outcomes bad? Why are there still some people without healthcare and some people dying because they were unable to receive immediate attention for their health issues from medics? The editorial board of the New York Times published an article, journalists basically argued that the current American healthcare system, “Obamacare” is not efficient; in fact the American healthcare system is currently doing worse than many other industrialized countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Britain and Canada. This is a large issue because healthcare is crucial for the American society because it should keep in mind the well-being of citizens. Specifically, “Some 37 percent of American adults went without recommended care, did not see a doctor when sick or failed to fill prescriptions in the past year because of costs, compared with 4 percent in Britain and 6 percent in Sweden. Nearly a quarter of
According to Squires and Chloe, the United States of America is considered as the greatest country in the world, with the largest economy, military powers, freedom of religion and speech, and one of the most successful democrats (2). However, the United States in the only western modernized nation that does not offer free healthcare services to all its citizens. Apparently, the costs of the healthcare services to the uninsured individuals in the US are prohibitive, where the insurance companies are interested in making higher profit margins than providing adequate health care to the insured (Squires and Chloe 4). These conditions are unexpectable and incompatible with the United States
Healthcare is not a right and has never been a right within the United States. It is a privilege that most people do not understand. Americans fail to realize that they are in control of their health, by adjusting their lifestyles by not smoking, eating right in order to avoid obesity, and understanding how their sedentary lifestyles affect them they could avoid many health issues in the future. With Americans having the highest BMI in the world we can see that our eating habits are not healthy.
Health care is an essential service "like education, clean water and air and protection from crime, all of which we already acknowledge are public responsibilities." Never mind that many Americans do not believe that public agencies are in fact providing adequate schooling, pollution control, and crime prevention. If we think health care is a right, then we should be appalled that the United States is the only western democracy whose citizens do not have universal access to health care. If you think health care is a commodity, then you should accept the fact that some of those without coverage will end up at the mercy of their hospital when the medical bills come due. Realizing that there is no free lunch when it comes to health care. That is why health care should be rationed by government regulations.
No parent wants to worry whether or not you’re able to afford to take their sick child to the doctors. What if they break a bone? Does your healthcare cover all of the medical bills? Most likely not. In America you must have a lot of money or a well-paying job to afford health insurance. If you’re poor you can get healthcare for free but only for a limited time. We shouldn’t have to be poor just for decent health coverage. We have a new law in America were everybody is required to have some sort of health coverage, or they must pay a huge tax fine. Does that seem fair? All it would take is for the government to sit down crunch numbers and find a working solution to our health care issues in America. Therefore health insurance should be
In his article “Health care: It’s a right, not a privilege”, Reginald Williams argues that in the united states health care should be universal. Williams supports his argument by saying that health care does not guarantee people to see a doctor, other countries see health care as a right when in the U.S. people think it’s a privilege, and it has been reserved for people who can afford
Healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health and the prevention of sickness diagnosis, and treatment of disease, illness, and injury. Because of the need for healthcare is so important, the America government had to come up with a way to make sure people have healthcare and be able to pay for it. The government came up with a healthcare system that use insurance and premiums to make sure one has coverage when they go to the hospital for healthcare needs. If the government and hospitals really care about people’s health, then why do they make insurance and premiums so high that people cannot afford them? In 2005 there was an estimate 45 million Americans that lacked health insurance, and the numbers have been climbing since (Clemmitt, Universal Coverage 1). If the government says that they care about human life, then there should just be universal coverage so everyone can get their healthcare needs met no matter if that person is poor or rich.
The debate over health care being a right or a privilege is an extensive one. For some people is like a never-ending story, everybody has a strong personal opinion on this issue, but it seems that nobody gets into a common ground. By definition a right is something which you are entitled to, but when this right becomes a necessity entitled by the sole virtue of being human we called a human right.
The current state of United States’ health care system is one of the most polarizing subjects of debate among scholars and other health care professionals across the globe. This can be attributed to the fact that at one extreme end, there are some who argue that that Americans have the best system of health care in the world (MePhee, 2013). Perhaps the availability of the state-of-the-art facilities and free medical technology that have become highly symbolic of the various industries in the United States have motivated the idea of the country’s health care system being unparalleled to others. However, there is a common belief that the fight for universal health care can only be successful if its current state of health care is described as a failure in the modern era as emphasized by MePhee (2013).
The fact that health care isn’t free for everyone causes problems. Wealthy people being able to afford health care and poor people not are the first and biggest problem that we have today. This is very unfair. Whether a person is rich or poor, they still need the proper treatment and care in order for