Pros And Cons Of Universal Healthcare

Furthermore, the United States spends nearly double the average $3,923 for the 15 countries ("Health Care Cost," 2011).” Accordingly the U.S. throws away more money than any other country on healthcare which consequently could jeopardize the medical attention that is being provided.

has the world’s most expensive healthcare system, yet one-sixth of Americans are uninsured. Approximately one-third (31%) of adults and a little more than one-half (54%) of children do not have a primary care doctor. Federal spending on healthcare in 2005 alone totaled $600 billion, a massive one-quarter of the federal budget. Someone files for bankruptcy every 30 seconds in the U.S of health concerns. And every 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure due to unaffordable medical costs. The U.S. spends six times more per capita on the administration of the health insurance system than Western European nations, who insure all citizens.“ www.realtruth.org/articles/090203-005-health.html. “In United States, the annual cost of health care per capita is $5,711. http://www.visualeconomics.com/healthcare-costs-around-the-world_2010-03-01/#ixzz12f0I1lbk

The United States has a very unique healthcare system. Does this mean that we are simply leagues ahead of the rest of the world in healthcare? Unfortunately, not at all. The ideal of American exceptionalism is apt to describe our healthcare system. That is, our current system is exceptionally bad. Per capita, the United States spends “twice the average of other developed countries” on healthcare ("United States Per Capita Healthcare Spending Is More Than Twice The Average Of Other Developed Countries"). Yet, in the World Health Organization’s ranking of healthcare systems by nation, the U.S. comes in at a dismal 37th place, despite spending the most per person of any country on Earth on healthcare ("World Health Organization’s Ranking of the World’s Health Systems").

The United States health care system ranks 37th in the world. Statistically, it’s bizarre how United States is amongst one of the most advanced nations in the world and the fact that it spends more on its healthcare

Many people believe that the current of health care in the United States is the best health care in the world however it has major shortcomings that has become more visible for the whole world to see. The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world based on health expenditure per capita and on

The subject matter of universal health care is important because the current system of health care in America is economically and morally wrong. The United States spends more than double on health care and still millions are left without coverage. During the Progressive Era, AALL (American Association of Labor Legislation) proposed a bill which provided coverage to those making less than $1200 and would be provided services such as physicians, hospitals, and nurse which would be shared between workers, employers, and the state. This system was opposed by the AFL (American Federation of Labor) because it felt this movement would weaken unions. Furthermore, Bill Clinton proposed a system of universal health care which would provide health coverage

           In a country where healthcare is a decision, many debate if our country should keep our health care system privatized. Health care is an essential need in society because individual health can change at any time without warning at any time. While there are both pros and cons of this system, the pros outway the cons. I believe that our nation should ensure basic health care to all legal citizens, no matter the class. Many Americans fall into circumstances where they are not able to pay the expensive bills that privatized insurance companies billhave so they do not have chose to not have insurance at all. Universal health care gives those people the means of financial support when they medically need

“That the U.S. health care system is broken and needs to be fixed is widely agreed to be true” (Universal Health Care Opposing Views p 19) is immediately apparent following a brief research of the organization of health care in the nation. There is an inability to control rising health care costs, and the system, although considered the most technologically advanced in the world, is riddled with waste and inefficiency. Year on year, doctors are spending increasingly more time dealing with insurance related administrative work rather than healing patients, there is gross overuse of care because employees view healthcare as part of a work-related benefit package, access to health care is based on ability to pay, and there is constant anxiety caused by the fear of losing employer-sponsored coverage. In contrast, a system of universal healthcare offers free services that are accessible to all, releases doctors from insurance paperwork to focus on healing, removes overuse of care because citizens fund the services through the payment of taxes, and may lead to healthier populations, among other things. Therefore, although vastly different from the current system, one could consider whether the introduction of universal healthcare would be beneficial for the USA?

Since the advent of health insurance in the 1950s, there have been many models of care that are come to the scene in an attempt to both control cost of care and improve quality of care. Insurance models came into being because the fee for service model used until then was proving to increase cost of healthcare without any measure of quality of services and care provided. Health insurance models have evolved from the basic hospital offered insurance to employer sponsored coverage plans. The US health system is broken both financially and quality wise with more than 20% of gross domestic product being spent on healthcare (Blackstone, 2016).

"Universal healthcare refers to a healthcare system that provides benefits to all persons in a particular country." (Definition of "Universal Healthcare Coverage", Investopedia.com). This form of healthcare is used among the richest countries, Ex. Canada and France. Other rich countries that use the Universal Healthcare system spend far less than the United States does. Although the U.S spends more on healthcare, “The U.S ranks 28th below almost all other rich countries, when it comes to the quality of its healthcare assessed by UN parameters (pdf, p.13)"(Annalisa Merreli, A history of why the US is the only rich country without universal healthcare, qz.com). These statistics call for a change. The United States should adopt universal healthcare because it would benefit business, provide equal access to healthcare, and is a human right.

Brian became aware of his testicular cancer five years ago. Despite insurance, Brian still owed thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. Over the course of three years, he built relationships with nurses, doctors, and the hospital staff during treatments and follow up appointments. Without warning or explanation, the insurance company no longer accepted his hospital as a provider under their plans. He doubted any other hospital staff could provide the physical and emotional support his previous providers gave and wondered how to replace the people who had been there during the toughest times of his life (Salmon). The current health care system in America affects people physically, emotionally, and financially. “Costs are enormous, yet Americans do not fare better, and often fare worse, than citizens in countries which spend substantially less on health care” (Cicconi).

Tears fall throughout the night; a mother living in Belfast, England has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She knows that with the rate of people being admitted everyday to a hospital, it will be months, even years, before she receives treatment; by then, it may be too late. We’ve been spoiled with top notch healthcare in the United States and, upon our fairly well-off thrones, we can’t even begin to fathom the enormous sorrow and agony that these people must face. That’s why in 1906, the American Association of Labor Legislation (AALL) began the first campaign for health insurance for an ailing working class. Later in 1945, President Harry Truman proposed the idea of ‘Universal Heathcare’, which would grant all citizens the access to free

Universal healthcare is a very controversial subject in the US. One argument is that universal health care systems would bring costs down and increase our access to care no matter financial status. Others however, argue that universal healthcare would be too expensive and would reduce the quality of care you were receiving. However, this is not true because if everyone had access to the same care there wouldn't be a need for competition in the market. There would be no one to beat or be better against because everyone would be receiving the same attention no matter where they were seen.

Everybody talks about how bad the US healthcare system is, which it might be a little bad, but it is not all bad. In the last one hundred years, the life expectancy went from 47 to 78, and 3.5 years in the last decade. That is a huge difference. Since 1960 heart disease went down 56 percent. Doctor visits used to be for when people knew they were going to die, but now they will not die when they go to the doctor. Even though all of those good things have happened, there is still a lot of bad things about the US healthcare. There is an average of 101,000 preventable deaths per year in the US. Most of those deaths happened because of the way the healthcare system is organized. Race, income, and environment influences who gets access to healthcare and who does not, which is just wrong. Even though the life expectancy rate went up, it is still significantly lower than other countries. Over half of people who do not have healthcare are African-American. There are more hospitals in wealthier area, and public hospitals are closing where they are most needed.

On March 23, 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama, raising the question for many of whether this new law was going to be more helpful or hurtful. With universal healthcare, healthcare coverage would be increased tremendously, costs would be reduced, jobs would be created, and consumers would be protected. Conversely, it will also raise taxes and wait times, lead to a smaller number of doctors, and infringe on some employers’ 1st amendment rights. Presenting both arguments for and against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows one to draw a conclusion on whether the new program will benefit or hinder the citizens of the United States.