The Goal Of Universal Health Coverage Essay

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

Healthcare should be a right for all U.S. citizens because not only would it drastically lower costs from the current healthcare system for both the individual and the government, but also greatly improve healthcare rankings and satisfy the majority of the population. By expanding coverage to all U.S. citizens, universal healthcare would significantly lower healthcare costs for both the individual and the government. Without a doubt, something should be done to fix the current healthcare system; it is just a matter of what should be done. Over the past several years, the cost of healthcare in the U.S. has risen significantly and does not seem to lower, surpassing “$2.2 trillion in 2007”. Universal Health Care is a "Social Program", not "socialized medicine"; under Universal Health Care, one can choose any doctor(s) or public hospital (A "private" hospital, even in the U.S.A. today, is just that. A hospital that is exclusive to the general population according to the wealth and contacts of an individual. There is no "out of network" doctor, hospital or medical facility in the program.

A key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to decrease the number of uninsured individuals, many of whom are in low-income families and are minorities (Kaiser Family Foundation 2016). Under the ACA, immigrants who are in the U.S. legally are eligible for coverage through the health insurance marketplace but undocumented immigrants are not (HealthCare.gov) even when using their own money to purchase. There are estimates of 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the country as of 2014 (Krogstad, Passel, & Cohn 2016). It is estimated that California was home to more than two million undocumented immigrants in 2013. In 2016, California passed SB 10, a bill that would require the California Health Benefit Exchange, which facilitates the enrollment of qualified individuals into health plans, to apply to the United States Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage through the Exchange because of their immigration status to obtain coverage from the Exchange (California Legislative Information). This paper will explore California’s SB 10 legislation, its purpose, and how it will seek to serve its undocumented immigrant population and their health needs.

The united states have a unique health care system of delivery that pursues to target some specific areas. The health reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also called the Obama care (2010), which holds the promise of universal health coverage under government mandates. With a predominant role that is play from the government the Health Care Reform is said to be, one of the most important pieces of legislation today. Universal health care is the pourpose that all citizens should have access to affordable, high-quality medical care and acces to primary care. Health care reform will provide every American with the ability to obtain, health insurance regardless of race, ethnicity, or income. With universal health care, everyone’s

Healthcare has been a long standing battle for the United States. The need to provide access

Universal Healthcare will increase accessibility, by eliminating the ability of major insurance companies to discriminate, based on pre-existing conditions and other exclusions to care. A key debated issue with Universal Healthcare is whether healthcare is a basic right under life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, or a privilege. Universal Healthcare is built on the idea of healthcare being a basic human right. As a basic right, all citizens regardless of pre-existing conditions or disabilities would have the right to necessary healthcare. According to Jerry Levinson,

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.

“Health care is an essential requirement for well being” (Maruthappu). All over the world, health care is a constant concern because of the difficulty maintaining quality and affordability. In the United States, health care reform has been a huge debate topic. The purpose of health care is to satisfy the medical needs of an individual. However, many Americans consider health care a “luxury,”because millions of low-income families cannot afford the same care as the middle or high class. In this case, the right to quality and affordable health care is not extended to all Americans. Universal health care will ensure a higher life expectancy, reduce the cost of medical treatment through a single-payer method, and improve medical treatments.

All people across the globe are entitled to the health attention they require. The World Health Organization has identified five elements to achieve this goal. These include reducing social disparities in health, providing services that meet clients’ expectations, altering public policies to address health, leadership reforms and increasing stakeholder participation (WHO, 2013).

Health care costs are on the rise and rising fast. There is a debate if universal health care will have positive or negative effects on health care costs. Sources have stated that it is outrageous that people can not go to the doctor because of the health care cost, and that universal health care will help those more who need doctor appointments while ensuring and get them much lower cheaper costs. Those who are against the idea of universal health care say it’s a bad idea because not everyone deserves it.

With a universal health care system, the government would have control and run the system, therefore, the cost of healthcare would be regulated. “A universal health care system would be regulated by the government, so costs overall would be reduced with a more monitored system to reduce inflated costs for tests, hospital stays and procedures.” (Ireland, 2017) When you regulate medical costs, the cost of medical coverage, supplies, and prescriptions are more affordable for everyone.

Many would argue that here, in the United States, we have the best healthcare in the world. We benefit from the most up to date medical technologies, medications, and services. People come from every corner of the world to take advantage of our top notch physicians and facilities. But is this reputation warranted, and if so, at what cost? The average annual cost per US resident is $7,681; this comprises 16.2% of our gross domestic product. These costs rank us among the highest of industrialized nations (Lundy, 2010). Does this high expenditure equate to better outcomes? According to the National Scorecard on US Health System Performance (2008), the US received a 65 out of 100 possible points.

Like many college students I have to pinch pennies to make it through school. Every last penny counts when budgeting my monetary supply. As a result of this I have found that I do not have enough to spare to pay for health insurance. Unlike most college students I am over the age of 23 and thus not covered by my parents insurance. Since I am only employed part time I am also not able to obtain it from work. This puts me in the company of the more than 42 million Americans who do not have health insurance. It is past time that the United States join the rest of the industrialized countries that have already decided to provide their citizens with health care. I believe a single payer health care

In all of the U.S, United Healthcare is the only health carrier that has been working towards improving the effectiveness as well as quality of healthcare for people belonging to all the various nations. This organization has been trying to make the medicines more accessible to the people who need them; they have been trying to implement the services that could be used by the masses not only in terms of cheaper costs but better accessibility as well.

Since the beginning of human civilization, our health and well-being has sustained a high level of importance, because one’s physical and mental condition are things that are necessary to care for. The issue however remains in how our governments should assist in this care and how involved they should be in the world of doctors, drugs and healthcare companies. Many have strong opinions on this complex issue, and governments have attempted many different strategies which have been met with a sweeping range of results, from the corrupt health care companies which can be seen in the US to systems which have been denounced as communism to everything in between. Personally, I believe that completely universal healthcare is the best for society as a healthy population increases economic productivity, the system allows you to contribute incrementally over time and your wealth should not influence your access to care.