Liberty, Justice, and Healthcare for all
Liberty, Justice, and Healthcare for all
ENG 122 Composition II
September 8, 2013
Imagine living in a country where when you are sick or hurt, you pick up the phone, make an appointment with your family doctor, and go get medical attention without having to worry about paying for co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions or any other health care related expense. Does this scenario sound too good to be true? Some Americans are lucky enough to have insurance that pays for at least part of their medical bills, but there are people in the United States that do without healthcare because they cannot afford health insurance or doctor bills. When these people do have a non-emergency medical situation, they end up going to an emergency room for care, causing overcrowding and long wait times in our hospitals. Most civilized countries in the world offer citizens health coverage, whether they work or not. Everyone is treated equally without regard to his or her income, race, or beliefs. Why does the United States not offer this for its citizens? Even though universal health coverage would make health care available to everyone, the United States does not have universal health coverage because the majority of the citizens do not want it. Americans feel that if the United States had universal health coverage they would pay higher taxes, the government would be moving away from democracy, and the quality of healthcare could decline for patients.
America does not have universal health coverage because the citizens believe that they will have to pay higher taxes to fund the health insurance. The United States offers Medicare for senior citizens, ages 65 and older, and individual states offer Medicaid for citizens that are low income or have chronic health conditions that private health insurance will not cover. The citizens pay for these programs through payroll deductions every payday. Americans pay $549 billion each year for Medicare (Medicare.gov, n.d.)
ENG 122 Composition II
September 8, 2013
Imagine living in a country where when you are sick or hurt, you pick up the phone, make an appointment with your family doctor, and go get medical attention without having to worry about paying for co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions or any other health care related expense. Does this scenario sound too good to be true? Some Americans are lucky enough to have insurance that pays for at least part of their medical bills, but there are people in the United States that do without healthcare because they cannot afford health insurance or doctor bills. When these people do have a non-emergency medical situation, they end up going to an emergency room for care, causing overcrowding and long wait times in our hospitals. Most civilized countries in the world offer citizens health coverage, whether they work or not. Everyone is treated equally without regard to his or her income, race, or beliefs. Why does the United States not offer this for its citizens? Even though universal health coverage would make health care available to everyone, the United States does not have universal health coverage because the majority of the citizens do not want it. Americans feel that if the United States had universal health coverage they would pay higher taxes, the government would be moving away from democracy, and the quality of healthcare could decline for patients.
America does not have universal health coverage because the citizens believe that they will have to pay higher taxes to fund the health insurance. The United States offers Medicare for senior citizens, ages 65 and older, and individual states offer Medicaid for citizens that are low income or have chronic health conditions that private health insurance will not cover. The citizens pay for these programs through payroll deductions every payday. Americans pay $549 billion each year for Medicare (Medicare.gov, n.d.)