Tommy Douglas's Universal Healthcare System

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. 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 opportunity to have health insurance no matter his or her income. Isn’t this the principle of freedom and basic right what America was based on? On half of all bankruptcies in the United States are due to an inability to pay medical bills. These problems all pose a question and the answer Is Universal Healthcare. The federal government has the interest of all American citizens on its mind and universal healthcare is a perfect way of highlighting that fact. The Affordable Care act provides low cost healthcare to the previously uninsured and guarantees continued healthcare in the case of job loss. Many people are still opposed to this act. This new system of universal healthcare will lead to improvements within the lives of American Citizens. There are many

Without our health, we have nothing. Money, friends and family, happiness--all are afterthoughts without our health. As such, both as individuals and as a society, maintaining our health must be an indispensable priority. Despite the many faults of our healthcare system, Americans realize this. Healthcare is undoubtedly a major concern in the United States. The recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “Obamacare,” the heated debates on healthcare across the nation, and the over one trillion dollars spent per year by the government on healthcare, all show our prioritization of health ("Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go"). Furthermore, a strong majority of

A national health care system in the United States has been a contentious topic of debate for over a century. Social reformists have been fighting for universal health care for all Americans, while the opposition claims that a “social” heath care system has no place in the ‘Land of the Free’.

The question of Universal Healthcare in the United States has valid and non valid arguments with supporters on both sides of the issue. Millions of Americans do not have affordable health care insurance. The main question is who is responsible to provide this? Is it feasible for government to pay for the lack of health care by taxpayer’s dollars? Should you be responsible for yourselves or should you be compensated by the government?       Unemployment is at record high making health insurance less attainable or affordable than ever. In most cases, additional restrictions or

In 1967, Tommy Douglas had a great impact in establishing Canada’s universal health care system which guarantees health care to its residents regardless of factors such as race or ethnicity, religion, income, and age (Tommy Douglas: The Father of Medicare, n.d., para.1). In the 1974 Lalonde Report it emphasizes that health services were only one of the many factors that affect health (A New Perspective On the Health of Canadians, 1974). Others factors which include income, food security, the level of education, shelter, status of health, social status, employment and working conditions, and living conditions also contribute to the status of ones’ health. These factors are known as the social determinants of health or one’s socio-economic status that provide an insight to the health of Canadians.

Canada 's healthcare system is praised globally for its universal and free healthcare. It started to take shape after World War II in 1945. Health insurance was introduced and was attempted, but was not successful even though there was an increase in the spending of health related services and goods. Fast forward a few years to 1961 where Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan, developed the idea for an all-inclusive insurance plan. He later inspired the Medical Care Act in Canada in 1967, when he pointed out health care is a right for all Canadians. From this one thought, Canada has become of the many countries with a universal health care system. Ever since Tommy Douglas sparked the idea for health care coverage, Canada is praised for the way it carries out its system because of several key features. This system is publically funded, is universal and is accessible to everyone across the nation. Because this is a public system, funding comes from the tax payers and some federal funding, so there is no extra cost for the patients. Also, being a universal system it has offered care to all Canadians, immigrants and visitors. Unlike the U.S who does not provide healthcare to its entire population because it is a private system; access depends on how much someone could afford, and how

Shortly after, he moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan. At that time he witnessed all the suffering the people in the province were facing due to the great depression. Tommy Douglas felt something had needed to be done, and so he decided that politics was the way. 1933, Tommy Douglas had joined the Cooperative Commonwealth Foundation (CCF), a socialist political party in Canada. Which later became the New Democratic Party (NDP). During the 1934 Saskatchewan elections, he was unsuccessful, but he did not give up. At the 1935 federal election, he ran as a member of the CCF. This time he was successful. During his time in Parliament, he spent much of the time advocating for civil liberties and such that others did not agree with. Tommy Douglas built a reputation as a witty debater. In 1944, Tommy Douglas decided to resign from the Parliament and run for the Saskatchewan general election. He spent the next 17 years as premier. His most notable achievement as premier, was the establishment of a government funded medical care plan. 1961, Douglas resigned as premier to lead the NDP. Lots were accomplished in his lifespan, but he did not live forever. Tommy Douglas passed away in 1986 due to

This campaign was the fight for government assisted health care for all. The government of Canada officially passed the Medical Care Act in 1966, which created a universal health care system for all Canadians. This was a significant step in Canadian history as many countries at that time, and still today, lack laws of equality like this one. For this reason, Canadians find great pride in the fact that all people in Canada have equal access to medical care. However, this law did not easily come about, it took much time and persuasion to even be considered. Tommy Douglas began the fight for universal health care for all Canadians in 1961 when he left the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan to be a part of the federal government (Colyer, et al, 2010, p.326). Douglas had the idea of giving all Canadians universal health care after he had succeeded in doing this for the people of Saskatchewan. After proving his outrageous idea of medical care being partially paid for by the government, it was easy to convince the rest of Canada. For only a small fee each month, Saskatchewan residents had their medical bills partially paid for and after only two years provincial debt was reduced by twenty million dollars (Colyer, et al, 2010, p.326). These same rules were implemented in the rest of Canada as a result of the 1966 Medical Care Act (Health Canada, 2012, online). As a result, Canadians were now supported by the government when they needed medical help. Consequently, universal health care brought both pride and equality to Canada because very few countries had the same luxuries that Canadians now

It can be argued that establishing Universal Healthcare would be a drain of government resources and would necessitate subsidization by taxes. A Universal Healthcare system provided for all citizens would create an extra tax on

moved to Winnipeg in 1911 along with his mother and sister to meet his father who had

Medical costs are getting too expensive. Ever fought with your insurance providers because they refused to pay for care, or struggle to find an “in-network” provider? I know a woman whose name I will change for her privacy and the struggles she is going through are a perfect example of an issue many people face when dealing with insurance; Nancy’s (name changed for privacy) story is a perfect example of how our healthcare system is no longer working for the people. Nancy is this woman whose husband recently passed away. Nancy used to work for county and county workers cannot receive social security; and Nancy is too

Many people who know of Tommy Douglas and his impact on Canada, could easily say that he is one of the greatest Canadians in all of Canada’s history. Tommy Douglas is no ordinary person, he played a big role in why Canada is great to this day. He believed that every Canadian has a right to quality healthcare, regardless of the social or economical state that, that person might be in. In sticking to his belief, he led the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation(CCF), a government which was formed as a political coalition of progressive, socialist, and labour groups that requested economic reformation to help the Canadians who suffered from The Great Depression. CCF won Saskatchewan to form the first socialist government in North America. This party

Tommy Douglas was a preacher turned politician who fought for the right of health services in Canada. He ran for the position of the Premier of Saskatchewan in the year of 1944. He was elected and his career lasted from 1944 to 1961. That is when Canada’s political landscape began to change, affecting all the generations to come. Tommy Douglas believed that the government had responsibility to take care of ordinary people, making sure they lived a somewhat average lifestyle. Born in the year of 1904, and died in the year of 1986, this man changed the Healthcare Industry for the better.

The health care system in the United States is one of the greatest concerns facing Americans today and is an issue both moral and economic in nature. Some think the system should stay, for all intents and purposes, the same. They believe that the right to healthcare is a stepping stone toward socialism, and that it is the responsibility of the individual to obtain health care. These are usually the more ideologically conservative citizens and politicians who believe that medicine should remain a free enterprise, not to be constrained by government interference. Then there are those who believe that healthcare is a right, and the federal government has a responsibility to make sure it is available to all citizens, not just those who can afford

A health care system is the association of institutions related to people's health and resources. It delivers health services in order to meet the health needs of the targeted populations (Nigam, 2011). There is a wide variation in the world of how different nations organize their health care systems, with almost all nations having differing health care organizational structures. Planning in some countries for health care distributes to those participating in markets. In other countries, however, planning is as a result of joint efforts between the government, religious bodies, and charities among other groups (Nigam, 2011).