Universal Health Care (UHC) was first started in Germany in the year 1883 and spread through other countries especially the rich countries of Europe. UHC is a term that is used to address a health care system which provides health care and financial protection to every citizen of a specific country. UHC is all about providing a specified health care package which will be of benefit to every member of the society with the aim of providing financial risk protection, improved health outcomes and improved access to health services. Universal healthcare is the type of health care plan where every member of the society can receive health coverage irrespective of their social status, income, age, gender, race, pre-existing condition or wealth. This means that as far as you are certified as a legal member of the region where universal health care is being practiced then you are eligible for universal health care. When we talk about universal health care we are referring to health care that’s paid for or subsidized by the government, which is also called single-payer health care system. There are many issues on American’s health care system regardless the fate of Obama Care which is also known as Affordable Care Act. UHC should be provide for all American citizens because it a human right, it boost the economy and stops medical bankruptcies.
President Obama of the United States delivered his last state of the union speech in December 2015 and mentioned that the United States is the most powerful nation in the world and the state of the union is strong. If that’s the case, I don’t see any reason why the government can’t provide UHC to its citizens. If some Asian countries like Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea can do that, why can’t US? Other than the efficiency of the government running universal health care, I think the other reason is most Americans don’t think health care is not supposed to be the responsibility of the government. UHC also draws it support from the United Nations Declaration made on Dec.10, 1948 which stated that “everyone has the right to a standard of living proper for the health and well-being of the individual and his family, which includes medical care”. Again in 2005, the United States and World Health Organization members further throw their support for UHC with the signing of the World Health Assembly resolution 58.33 which said that every member of the society should have access to health care services without facing financial hardship when seeking for health care. UHC will encourage entrepreneurship according to the projection made by Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy. Most individuals stay away from starting their own business due to fear of losing health care insurance or they enjoy their current employer. With UHC in place, self-employment in United State could increase by 2 to 3.5%. Without a doubt, people work more when they live healthier lives which allow them to contribute as much they can to the nation’s economy. UHC will raise the standard of living of every individual in the society which will lead to more economic productivity. As of 2011, about 59.5% of Americans were enjoying health insurance through their employer in the private sector. The high cost that is associated with paying employee’s health insurance put U.S private businesses in competitive disadvantage in the international marketplace. Hence with UHC, private businesses can free up the fund use for health insurance for investment in other areas of their business. This could reduce employer labor cost by more than 12%. UHC can put an end to medical bankruptcies. In 2007, about 62% of all United States bankruptcies in one or another were related to medical expenses even for those with health insurance. With UHC, medical bankruptcy will be a thing of the past leading to a healthier and richer nation. The main advantage of this type of health care is it gives people that can’t afford health care the services they need. This health care system allows basic health are services for all citizens and it doesn’t discriminate against anyone. It helps those that aren’t employed or have other difficulties get health care when they need it the most. One of the greatest advantage of UHC, every member of the society that practice this type of health plan can be able to access health care no matter his social status. Since no single human life is greater to another, the poor can be able to receive exactly the type of health care that could only be afforded by rich man under normal circumstances. This type of health care does not discriminate against anyone. It puts all the legal member of the society in the equal pedestal. The entire population spreads around the cost of the health care so everyone can at least get the basic care that they need. This type of health care will help to improve the health of general population, since every member of the society has an equal access to medical health care. Hence, it will lead to reduction in the amount of illness suffered by general population; create healthier people and increased productivity. Citizens can get free treatments for basic conditions without the fear of not being able to afford them. This can help reduce the spread of infectious diseases and other common health problems that people may ignore if they can’t afford health care. The president candidate Bernie Sanders has been criticized that his universal health care plan is such an un-fetched dream. To make this happen, he admitted that he would have to increase taxes to every citizen, which can plunge United States into a socialism state where government controls the distribution of goods and services. United States is currently practicing free market system where market forces determine the availability and cost of health care services and not the federal government. The introduction of UHC will lead to great distortion in the economy. It could be a first step towards government controlling other aspect of the economy. The UHC will reduce the amount of money doctors can make thereby reducing the attraction in the practice. This could create shortage of doctors in the long-run. Those with higher incomes may complain that their money is going to pay for the health care of other citizens when it should be going to pay for their own health care. This is probably the biggest argument against universal health care. A single payer health care system causes an increase in taxes as the system needs to be paid for. The overall costs if the system can be draining on a country and causes large debts. The existing U.S government health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program is already putting a huge strain on public budget. Adding a UHC program to these would amount to enormous growth in government spending and debt. Governments aren’t that great at running large systems and the fact that the government runs health care can lead to a lot of problems. To run the health care system there may need to be cuts made in other areas of the government which weaken those areas to compensate for the need of the health care system.
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Elisa Blow
I will use this blog for my class and reviews on anime Archives
December 2017
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