Refutation Speech Outline

Refutation Speech Outline

Introduction I. (attention-getter) The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system (Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.) In 2006, the percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.8%, or approximately 47 million uninsured people (US Census Bureau). II. (introduce-justify topic) The United States spends twice as much on health care per capita than any other country and spending continues to increase. In 2005, the national health care expenditures totaled $2 trillion (National Center for Health Statistics,) and about half of the bankruptcy filings in the United States are due to medical expenses. (Health Affairs
Journal 2005). We, as citizens of the United States, must realize the severe imperfections and problems presented in our current health care system, and come together to create a universal health care system that would cater to ALL who need help. We are the shapers of America in the future. III. (speaker-of credibility) I, as an American citizen, have realized the severe problems in our current system and I was interested to learn more about the topic. IV. (identify thesis) As I speak today, I will address the major flaws in our current health care system, the problems in getting significant health care legislature passed through Congress, and lastly, I will list the many benefits involved with a form of socialized medicine.

Body I. In order to fully understand the need for a change in our system, we must look to the many flaws found within it. a. According to the (National Center for Health Statistics) More than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive health services in 2005, because they could not afford it. i. This is wrong, we as the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, must not allow for this kind of thing to happen. If someone needs a health service, they should have access to it regardless of their socioeconomic condition. 1. Even though recent legislation was passed to aid in this, what is a cancer patient was refused help simply because they couldn’t pay 2. Or what if a family had to declare bankruptcy due to health problems. ii. A universal health care system would cure problems in Americans not being able to pay to visit a doctor, receive prescriptions, or various other services. b. Another problem in the United States health care system is the simple fact that we don't pay doctors according to the quality of their care. i. If doctors were paid by the quality of their care, they would be more motivated in the work they do. ii. Americans would benefit through this system in addition to socialized medicine because it would drive competition and improve existing services. iii. How many doctors are paid, in part, according to the quality of the care they deliver? In the United Kingdom, the number is 95 percent. In Australia, it's 72 percent. The U.S. scores lower than anyone else, at 30 percent, as reported by the (National Center for Health Statistics). II. Secondly, I will address the reasons why we don’t have universal health care already: a. Many people are frightened by the words “socialized medicine,” due to the tension with socialist communists for generations – but it is important to realize that this relation is misguided as well as false. Socialized medicine, or the centralization of health care in medicine, is nothing like what the once feared Soviet Union had. Just because they share a word, doesn’t mean they are even comparable. b.
Also, Politicians fear that socialized medicine would result in higher taxes, and no one wants to be the one to report high taxes to their home districts if they want to be reelected. However, many people fail to realize the simple transfer of funds. With higher taxes, you are no longer paying health care fees. i. In actuality, a government based healthcare system would reduce overhead (which is paying more than what a good or service is worth,) and actually save valuable money to U.S citizens as a whole. ii. Integrating health care with government has worked in every other wealth industrialized nation, and we pay far more than any other country for our health care, according to the (National Center for Health Statistics). We need to realize what is best in the long term. III. As I said above, there are many benefits that would arise from fixing problems with our health care system. a. We would improve quality of our service through quality dependent pay. b. Insure that every American, rich or poor, has access to the health serves they need. c. We can reduce the overall costs of healthcare through government integration, and put more money back into our pockets. d. There would be increased productivity, as more people can afford to have diseases treated and spend less time being
sick.

Conclusion I. I hope through my analysis of our health care system you have realized the importance for change in the way we operate, for the way we operate results in monetary waste as well as the denial of medical services. II. You would think a nation of our size and power would be more involved in such a vital element to every industrialized nation such as healthcare. III. Simply put, Health care in the United States is a disaster. We, as citizens, must rise up to overcome such a burden on society, for the sake of generations to come.