Advocacy

Every now and then, the debates and tensions emanating from the expensive and highly inequitable United States healthcare system forces us, as citizens, to generally reassess and question the country’s health care financial and delivery system. President Obama’s plan to reform the U.S healthcare system, in the beginning of his first term, is an excellent example of such periods of high tension. As President Obama pushed for healthcare reform policies, many Republicans and insurance companies fought against his policies by creating different measures to prevent these policies from resulting in an incremental change in the health care system. Unlike other more economically developed countries, the United States healthcare system does not give states the opportunity to provide free and/or affordable healthcare services to its residents. In countries such as France or Canada, healthcare is more affordable because it is operated by the government. In these countries, the government pays healthcare providers directly for their services. In the United States, however, healthcare initiatives are placed on the hands of private companies whose main focus is profitability through instituting high fees for healthcare services. Although some of the best medical care is available in the United States, the cost of health care and its delivery methods have always created many challenges for consumers and practitioners alike. In our society today, many people are uninsured and/or lack access to affordable health care services. Those that can afford health care fear that they may lose their coverage as health insurance companies seek new way to extricate themselves from providing coverage to the masses. Karger and Stoesz (2010) maintain that the number of uninsured people increased from 49 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, and this number is expected to grow even higher due to the current economic climate. This paper will assess the U.S healthcare