Riley Reedmer
Comp 1- MWF10AM
Position Essay
November 16, 2015
Right to Health Care
The right of health care is a huge topic as of now in the United States. 47.9 million people in the United States did not have health insurance in 2012 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The United States and Mexico are the only countries of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that do not have universal health care. Proponents of the right to health care say that no one in the richest nation on earth should go without health care. They argue that a right to health care would stop medical facilities from going bankrupt, it would improve the health of the citizens, there would be a health care spending reduction, help small businesses and that health care should be an essential government service to the people. Opponents argue that a right to health care amounts to socialism and that it should be an individual 's responsibility, not the government 's role, to secure health care. They say that government provision of health care would decrease the availability and quality of health care, and would increase the nation’s debt and deficits. The debate is growing on if citizens of the U.S. should have the right to health care opposed to health care being a personal responsibility.
The proponents of the right to health care claim their main backup is that the founding documents of the U.S. provide support for a right to health care. The declaration of
Over the past century, individual health-care costs in the United States of America have tripled. Just in 2014, the annual health-care spending hit $3.8 trillion. (Munro) Not only does the overall cost of healthcare keep rising, but also the number of uninsured citizens is staying stagnant. Even with the recent controversies over Obama care, American citizens are not gaining the advantages that they need in obtaining basic health-care. The cost will only further increase, unless some action is taken. As much as implementing a universal health care system would seem to benefit the United States, it is fiscally impossible to do it with the current state of our economy. (Gibberman) The opportunity
In 1993, the Clinton administration proposed a far-reaching health-care reform bill called the Health Security Act. This plan would have guaranteed health insurance to every American. This proposition did not get broad consumer support, and Congress scuttled it, saying it was too expensive, too bureaucratic, and too intrusive. Despite defeat of that bill, many Americans are still committed to achieving universal coverage for all Americans. Many universal health care advocates favor a national health insurance plan funded by the government. The majority of industrialized nations have such health care systems, sometimes called “socialized medicine.” However, critics say that the United States cannot afford a national health care system. Moreover, most national health care plans are inferior to the best of our health plans. Switching to a government-funded system would destroy what is good about the present system.
Health care is a highly political topic, and the issue of whether or not to make health care, universal is at the center of the controversy (Rich & Walter, 2015). Health care is a vital component of day-to-day life, and as such it has not been left entirely in the hands of private ownership. There are regulations in place to ensure people receive quality health care at a relatively low price. Universal health care would just expand these already existing regulations while opening up health insurance to the masses. Universal health care has a role in the American Health care system, but only as a supplement to the private insurance model.
In 2007, more than 45 million Americans did not have health care insurance. The United States is the only industrialized major nation in the world without health care, and the debate about changing that has become a popular issue recently. The sharp difference between the two sides is a difference in ethical values; those for universal health care desire to see the government help others, mainly the lower class, and those who do not, wish that private companies be allowed to continue taking advantage of the status quo for profit. In this paper, I will argue why the Government should put in place The Universal Healthcare Systems.[1]
The campaign for some form of universal health care has spanned practically a century in the USA and has been the subject of political debate since the early part of the 20th century. Recent reforms remain an active and urgent political issue. Universal Health Care has been one of the leading public issues in America and in recent times this issue has risen to the fore, because of its increasing prevalence in the government, market, and civil sectors. In this essay, I will be looking at why this issue can and does affect everyone, no matter which sectors we look at. I will be taking an in-depth look at the many reasons why this public issue is worth caring about and why it is such a hotly contested subject in today’s politics, jobs, and even our homes. This is an incredibly important issue that should concern us all, but before we can start working on how to make this public issue better, we must first understand why it is a public issue.
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.
In addition, health care industry can affect every living person in United State in one way or another. For instance, the uninsured are excluded from services, charged more for medical services and die when medical care could have saved them(Berkin, 2012). America is known to have some of the best doctors, and healthcare facilities in the World, however two thirds of our country do not have an access to health insurance, or cannot afford it(Berkin, 2012). The Right to Health Care notes that the United States is one of the few, if not, only, developed nation in the world that does not guarantee
Moreover, opponents of universal health care argue that people should have the privilege of selecting healthcare just like any other good or service in a free market. However, most of these views are baseless and absurd. If a universal health care system is implemented, similar to the one in United Kingdom or Canada, all insurance providers in nearly every state would be brought together into a single organization whose mandate would be to cater for medical care expenses and offer health coverage to every U.S citizen. Approximately 30% of the overall health care expenses would be saved from waste or made accessible for health services rather than being misused on managing insurance providers together with their executives and actuaries (Lev 1).
The issue of universal health care has been a bone of contention among critics of health care reform. They claim that making health care accessible to uninsured Americans would jeopardize the democratic and capitalist susceptibility. Additionally, opponents of universal health insurance allude to untrustworthy contention insinuating that maybe as medical care and drugs succeed in becoming universally accessible, that societies might also begin to demand for universal access to food, shelter or higher education and at such annihilating American work ethic and capitalist system which has been the nation’s foundation since its inception.
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
For many years health care debates have been extremely popular and constitute a very divided issue amongst leaders and advocacy groups on both sides of the political spectrum. According to gale group, healthcare is listed as one of the basic human rights that all Americans are entitled to. According to report published in health care issues “The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists medical care among the basic human rights to which all people are entitled, but there has been a significant disparity in the availability of health care in the United States and many citizens’ ability to access this care. In 2016, approximately 9.1 percent of Americans did not have health insurance coverage, an improvement from 17 percent
In the United States, many would believe that all individuals have a right to health care. These citizens believe that everyone should have access to health care and that everyone should have an equal opportunity to get the care they need for themselves and their family. The United States of America has been built with many documents that can be interpreted to support the belief that health care should be a right for everyone.
According to the United States census Bureau 47.9 million persons in the US which is approximately 15.4% of the entire US population, in 2012 lacked health insurance. Mexico and the US are the only nations of the thirty-four member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that do not provide their citizens with universal health care. On the other hand, health care right should be provided to any person in the developed world and no one should be excluded from it. Universal health care would enhance public health, put an end to medical bankruptcies, minimize overall spending in healthcare, assist small businesses as well as the fact that health care must be a crucial service offered by the government (Mangan, 2014).
In looking at health care as a human right, it must be provided as a public good for all, financed publicly and equitably i.e. free universal health care for all regardless of social status. The human right to health care means that healthcare systems and health care professionals must be accessible and available
Keeping healthcare affordable for all citizens is important. Every person in this country should have the basic right to health care. The article Rights to Healthcare in the United States: Inherently Unstable discuss the rights people should have for healthcare as well as how Medicare and Medicaid came about. This paper discusses some points I agreed with in the article and different ways our country can improve health care.