Healthcare: a Right or a Privilege

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,

Not only has the cases of preventable chronic diseases increased over the years affecting half of the U.S population, they account for 86% of the health care costs. Programs and policies that address risk factors and causes of these diseases at their roots would not only promote public health but reduce the cost of health care both in treatment and hospitalization.

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.

The availability of healthcare is an extremely important issue in the United States. There are millions of Americans that are uninsured in the U.S. A high amount of uninsured people are from minority groups such as Hispanics and African-Americans. High deductible payments, the cost of prescription drugs, and lack of health insurance coverage cause many Americans to choose to live without insurance to save money for everyday expenses beside healthcare. Without health insurance, people do not have access to quality healthcare. Most citizens are aware of the issues in the healthcare system, but the disagreement comes when discussing how the best approach on ameliorating the system. Some believe that a more public and universal healthcare system is the best approach. Others believe that America works best through free enterprise and private institutions, and believe health insurance should be more privatized. However, health care has been shown to work best and be more available through proper public government control as it will allow for all Americans to have access to equal healthcare, in which money does not dictate health.

Contrary to what many people believe, America’s health status is not quite “up-to-par,” to say the least. Over forty-seven million people in the United States lack health insurance; that is more than 15% of our nation’s population! At first this disturbing truth seems impossible to believe, being as America is one of the most technologically advanced and economically developed countries in the world. “We spend trillions of dollars per year on medical care. That’s nearly half of all the health dollars spent in the world. But we’ve seen our statistics. We live shorter, often sicker lives than almost every other industrialized nation. “We rank 30th in [global] life expectancy” (Adelman 2008). Knowing this brings rise to the question: why are

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.

Every individual in the world deserves to enjoy health and wellness. Maintaining or achieving proper health needs enables individuals to be productive at work and leisure. Traditionally, many people have had barriers obtaining adequate healthcare due to economic constraints or personal inconveniences. Despite impressive technological advances in medicine, the challenge of delivering quality healthcare to the Americans continues to be debated amongst the nation’s political and healthcare leaders. The aging baby-boomers and the increased number of uninsured people add to the equation of population growth which results in limited access to primary healthcare for the entire public. On the

The U.S. spend billions of dollars every year on preventative care such as heart disease, cancer, AIDS and many more disease; millions more are spent on trying to find a cure for disease such as MS, MD, AIDS, cancer, polo and so many more. The advantage to the U.S. would come by way of universal health care as it is today. With different measures of insurance coverage, a person benefits more by having the freedom to choose which health care and insurance needs are suitable for them, rather than being confined to only one group (Chernichovsky & Leibowitz, 2010).

Consequently the U.S. spends more money than any other country on health care, and the medical care that is being provided may be compromised. Research has shown that the lack of health care insurance compromises a person’s health. However, there continues to be unnecessary death every year in the U.S. due to lack of health care

This year being an election year means that the American people are confronted with many issues and disparities that plague our nation. One of these hot button topics is that of healthcare. The United States is the only developed nation without a universal healthcare system, but spends the most for health services. With so many Americans lacking the adequate care needed or facing bankruptcy due to piling medical bills, one must look at the health disparities that are causing this super power nation to inadequately serve its citizens.

Many people contest to the statement that America's health care system is the "best in the world" (The Basic Dilemma). The ones that agree wholeheartedly with this quote are those who are on the outside looking in. Surely they are ignorant of the statistical data proving that the land of the free is plagued with the horrible "disease" of insufficient medical coverage. This issue has always been a problem ever since the concept of health care came in to existence. Health care is an industry, which like all of the like, cannot run effectively without the proper funding. But health care is seen as a private good, so if one cannot afford health care they

Healthcare is not an individual right in is considered a privilege. Especially for those individuals who can afford to pay the cost for having healthcare. Although the Affordable Care Act has made it possible for more people to have heath care in the United States. There are still many more that cannot afford the cost of the healthcare due to some of the mandates that have been put in place. So again I would say that heath care is not an individual right but it should be an individual right to all. According to Bernie Sanders, US Senator (Independent VT) in the "Issues: Medicare for All" section of his website (accessed Feb. 10, 2017), wrote: That “healthcare should be seen as a right not a privilege. That every individual in this country should have access to healthcare in spite of their income. A system that not only work for millionaires and billionaires but for everyone” (2017). Ologunde, Gunarajasingam (2013) Talks about a system that distributes healthcare unevenly, based on numerous factors other than necessity, raises a lot of questions on how ethical the healthcare system. Especially when there are a lot of inequity where access to care exist,

In former President William J. Clinton speech on Health Care Addressed to Congress in 1993 brought many positive measures to health care reform. Unfortunately, no one has used his ideas to benefit the lives of all Americans. In his speech he stated his six principles that can provide health care to all Americans with security, simplicity, savings, choice, quality, and responsibility. Today in 2017 many Americans are uninsured causing increased morbidity and mortality rates. There have been no beneficial changes in health care policy to increase the quality of life. Uninsured citizens are not able to take preventive measures to treat their illness, such as seeking medical advice before condition intensifies, affording medications, and obtain

Healthcare, is it a right or a privilege? The US seems to believe it is a privilege meanwhile, the UK would believe it is a right. Based on these two outlooks within the different countries who has a more economically stable healthcare system?