Ms. Jani Pearson
Janet M. Lambert
Eng. 122 Composition II
December 3, 2012
Introduction Most developed nations have universal health coverage. Why doesn’t the United States have universal health coverage? In that health care issues in the United States have been a hot topic for some years, many involved in the discussion have compared the successes and failures of other developed countries’ healthcare policies as a model to integrate universal health care to into American society (Marrow, 2012). It has been suggested by experts that while the United States may well be in need of an improved health care system, universal healthcare, such as the Canadian or British models currently have, is not necessarily a remarkable fit for American society (Woodlander, et.al., 2003) .
Background
Two of the primary issues of universal health care in the United States are its accessibility. Because the effects of accessibility and affordability were not considered within the multi-cultural context of American society, in the hurriedness to pass the bill into law, cultural differences were generally not considered (Kaufman, 2011). Then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, democratic representative from San Francisco, issued a well publicized quote from the floor of the House in 2009. “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” This statement exemplifies the lack of due consideration needed as described by Beufort Longest, Jr. in his text Healthcare Making Policy in America.
Longest prescribes that there are four specific steps in the life of a policy. They are: Policy making, where the problem is acknowledged as well as all those affected. This is followed by the formal enacting of a law and the implementation phase; how will the policy be paid for and sustained. The modification phase, although seemingly at the end of the
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