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Universal Health Coverage

You hear about the stories in the news about a lady with no insurance that ends up in the ER with stage 3 breast cancer. You have to think would it have been different if she would’ve taken preventative measures or routine checkups that some people have easy access too? A lot of people that have health scares or concerns skip a doctor’s visit to avoid the repercussions of an ugly bill .Some folks just can’t afford health insurance privately and if your employer offers insurance it is still a pretty good chunk of your paycheck. Parents will be humble and save for food, college funds, rent or tons of miscellaneous things besides health care. Some Americans will put their health needs on the absolute bottom of their to-do list to avoid a doctor’s visit, surgery, therapy or medicine they need. In two clauses of the constitution it mentions its responsibility for tax dollars to go to bad debt and the general welfare of the American citizens. The United States of America is by far one of the wealthiest countries in the world with billions of our tax dollars going to thing such as the best defense, technologies and many other things that succeed in performance. Why isn’t our health care succeeding like it should?  Ironically “The United States spends nearly twice as much on health care as does the rest of the developed world but has higher infant mortality and shorter longevity than most developed nations.”(Sommer XI). Why are other wealthy well developed countries benefiting off of this type of reform? This contradiction stems off of greed and capitalism and it should be fixed right away. Universal Health Coverage is the best option for the United States of America.

America’s action in current health care prove that money is more important than the general health of the citizens of our country. America is practicing the fittest of survival - only the rich survive. Even if the people going through Medicaid are covered what type of quality doctors, treatments and care are we giving them compared to those who can pay for the best of the best? All of us are human and we are all equal no matter what social status we have. “Privatization is a neoliberalism and imperialist plan. Health can’t be privatized because it is a fundamental human right, nor can education, water, electricity and other public services. They can’t be surrendered to private capital that denies the people from their rights.”-Hugo Chavez. We spend so much money jacking up prices of medicine and treatment that it just becomes costly unfair to most American except for the wealthy. Even with insurance provided through an employer deductible and premium rates are rising, causing people to vouch out. “Blue Cross Blue Shield is charging a family of four living in Boston $19,757 to buy a plan with full coverage. United Health is charging $45,166, an amount larger than U.S Per Capita Income.” (Kotlikoff 7-8).  Everyone should have free, easy, thorough, and accessible primary care without having second guessing themselves for a bill.

If someone ever wanted to switch jobs or if your employer ever switch’s health care companies there is a big possibility that you might have to start from scratch on what doctors that are in your network. Lack of consistency with going to different doctors causes obvious problems such as case mix-ups and lack of disinterest from starting all over. If someone has a permanent Chronic disease and there employer switches insurance it will cost a handful if the doctor they like all the sudden becomes out of network or it would be hassle if they had to start all over with a new doctor. Insurance companies don’t like taking on people with chronic illnesses because it gets more expensive for them. Therefore it raises the prices for them and leaves them underinsured.  In “The Uninsured Tell their Stories” Daniel a 59 year old construction worker always had injuries due to his job such as wrist, back and many other problems more serious like osteoarthritis. “Like most of the construction worker he knows, Daniel has spent years flip flopping on and off health insurance.” (Sered) Working like jobs in construction you are gambling your health because you don’t know what companies will or will not cover your or by how much. Even at that Daniel was not able to keep consistency with treatments, follow up visits and the certain path he needs to take. For a minute he thought he found the doctor who he could call his primary doctor and rely on until one day he was actually uninsured and the doctor wouldn’t even give in to see him without an upfront pay of $50. I’m pretty sure if he did end up seeing him that day the costs would just multiply for tests and etc. (Sered). With universal health care this problem would be non-existent and if for some reason you still wanted to switch doctors all of the documentation would be through one database. The majority of the boosted up healthcare does not come from better quality but actually comes from paperwork and administrative costs.

The reason so many Americans are rooting for this plan is not just because it makes sense but for the fact universal health care has far exceeded its expectations in other countries. The countries that go this route are not third world countries. They are very well developed, advanced and economically free. According to the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom publish by Heritage, United States ranks number 12 on the list. 10 of the 11 countries ahead of us exercise Universal Health Coverage. “The two advanced economies with the most economically free health care systems- Switzerland and Singapore- have achieved universal health coverage while spending a fraction of what the U.S spends. Switzerland’s public spending on health care is about half of America’s, and Singapore is about a fifth of ours. If we had either of those systems, we wouldn’t have a federal budget deficit.” (Avik). The other countries have the same advanced equipment and treatments as the Unites States. The Unites States in general does not have a good rap sheet compared to the other OECD countries. Lack of quality, access, life longevity, infant mortality rates and equity put us very low on all of the studies. A lot of the countries ranked higher than the U.S at least offer basic health care for free and through a single payer network. Some countries allow you to choose whether or not to go through the national health coverage or through an employer. Other countries make you pay into the system based on your income. Either way it is achieved these countries have a secure safety net for all of their citizens whether or not they are rich or poor. The United States of course does not have to copy their exact moves but there are smart enough people in politics to get the ball rolling however it may go. “The United States stand almost alone in the world in its failure to recognize healthcare as a human right. Instead we consider health care as an economic commodity. If you can afford it you can get it. If not you’re out of luck” – Robert H Lebow, Md.

The people that oppose Universal Health care seem to try to make up about any excuse in the book not to adopt it. One of the main ones they talk about is it takes away social freedom or insinuates that we are converting to socialism. People for Universal Health Care’s main underline goal Is to get everyone access to medical insurance. People that oppose the reform say “We don’t want to force people to have insurance.” It doesn’t make sense and it sounds like just another excuse for the fittest of the survival. Medical expenses are a human right, forcing someone to have health insurance is not a bad thing at all. It is very unheard of if someone does not want to be covered. We already know that the countries with Universal health care have reached high economic scores. They also mention that doctors will not want to pursue the medical field or pursue new development research. Other countries are just as caught up as the U.S in medical advancement and education. Just because the U.S decides to adopt Universal health care does not mean we are trying to cut the costs. The U.S already spends the most on healthcare we are just spending it on the wrong things. Duplicate paperwork and administrative costs can go to research and maintain the salaries for doctors and nurses. Yes at first it will be a slow process and it will cut some jobs such as medical billers and administrative assistants but with universal health care it will just be unnecessary.  Unfortunately it’s a harsh fact but money needs to go to the quality and access, not paperwork. “The healthcare industry likely will become infused with the same kind of corruption, back room dealing, and special interest-dominated sleaze that is already prevalent in other areas of the government” (Messerli). Comments like this are really reaching for any excuse not to cover more people. Yes there will be controversy and corruption whenever you start up something new. As time passes by it will be ironed out and laws will be set in place when stuff like that does occur. Messerli also states in this article that “Just because Americans are uninsured doesn't mean they can't receive health care; nonprofits and government-run hospitals provide services to those who don't have insurance, and it is illegal to refuse emergency medical service because of a lack of insurance.” Yes this is true but what kind of quality care are they getting and what type of follow up treatments do you think they offer if something is wrong? If they do find something wrong with them during a free checkup there is still the problem of extra services that they still need to pay for. The hospitals that offer stuff like that such as Parkland in Dallas will be flexible with you but in the end they will get their money! Whether it takes 6 months or two years you will pay the amount you owe. That is why people with low incomes get in even more debt and it is just a domino effect. 1. Robert born into low income family 2. He is going to work during school to help family out. 3. Employer A. doesn’t offer insurance B. it is too expensive 4. Something happens whether it’s a chronic disease or car crash. 5. Hospital will not deny him through the emergency room. 6. Two weeks later he receives a fat bill from the hospital. Finally 7. He will get into deep credit card debt. Uninsured Americans have a high chance of getting into medical debt. “A business week investigation in late 2007 documented an array of credit card and lending products that have emerged in recent years to capitalize on out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed patients’ ability to pay.” (Brien, 98). Again here is another example of companies trying to pray on the weak.

If you don’t change anything you will never see results. Obamacare is not the best answer or close to universal health care but it is certainly a step in the right direction. But even when it is all said and done “After a decade of ACA there will still be 31 million people that are uninsured. That is 25 million fewer uninsured than there would have been without the new law.” (Young) 25 Million people is still a high number and that does not include illegal immigrant. There are plenty of ways to pay for Universal Health Care. Are taxes would go up but in the long run it wins the race. Another way to fund the program is to get rid of the tax cuts given to the rich. Also I believe the high amount of money that everyone spends on political campaigns is very ridiculous. ”Employers should contribute, since many are already paying for health insurance for their employees. Regardless of the method used, the nation, along with most of its people and employers would be paying less for health care under such a publicly funded single payer plan than it is now. A national single payer system would relieve corporations of the burden of health insurance administration, stabilize costs, and give corporations the global level playing field they want” (Brien, 24). Private insurance companies spend billions of dollars on marketing their company and administrative cost. Plus on top of that they are still making billions of dollars profit. This money is coming from the people who pay. If this money was utilized for a single payer program we would be well off and it would cover the people that cannot afford it.

Many Americans are very for this type of law and others are willing to embrace it. The U.S needs to follow in are other OECD countries and realize this is the best answer. The United States of America should be united. We based our constitution on what is morally right. Providing the people with the care they should be entitled to should be a no brainer. America should look out for everyone, not just the people who can afford it. Instead of physicians actually caring about the patient and doing what is best at that moment they take in consideration of what kind of compensation they can get. What type of insurance do they have? How much are they willing to pay right now out of pocket? The United States is very money hungry and focused on how far they can push the envelope to billing the people. People with insurance have a higher chance of living if cancer appears or diabetes. It is America’s responsibility to enforce an obvious human right. “Health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity, and there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person be able to realize this right”- Joseph Cardinal Bernadin. We spend so much on amazing defense but we are failing to give everyone amazing healthcare. Norway, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Singapore and many other countries would take care of us if something unexpected happened in their country but if it was in the U.S we would deny them. We have to speak up and educate people about what is really going on and push for Universal Health Care.