In the United State of America should every citizen have equal right to health care? The USA healthcare system has become more of a privilege instead of being a human right. In the USA, the people do have the right to health care if only they can pay for their healthcare. Is this financial a discrimination? There are too many people who cannot get treatment on demand in the USA because they do not have the money.
Some people are avoiding going to the doctor because of the high medical cost and insurance cost. One man suffered a fatal heart attack when he did not seek treatment for a strep throat and the infection spread. A woman with a brain tumor was denied treatment for 10 months until she went blind and thus qualified for "urgent care." (Sherrow, V. 2009). Pg. 14
Health Care costs are rising more than many Americans people can afford. Most of the medical debts is accumulated by average citizen in the United States are because of medical treatments or drugs. Just in the year 2009, an estimated 1.5 million Americans did declare medical bankruptcy. Overall, three-quarters of the people with a medically-related bankruptcy had health insurance. (Theresa Tamkins, T. 2009, June/July 5).
Why is the U.S. the only developed country without universal healthcare? The U.S. has created a for profit system. The U.S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance. (World Health Report. 2000, June).
Should the insurance companies' pick, choose or denial someone health care base on a profit for their company? The five largest insurers -- WellPoint, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Humana -- which along with some other competitors boasted a 250% return over the past decade earned over $15 billion in 2010. That's 22% growth over their combined $12.2 billion earnings in 2009.( Alazraki, M. 2011, February 4).
The rising cost of the healthcare cost in the U.S. is a major concern because it does limits the excess to healthcare. If people do not have health insurance in the United States today, what happens? ... Medicaid ... We have 40 million people who are uninsured in the United States. What the healthcare debate is about is how to take care of those people (Marshall, J. L., MD. 2011, February 23) So, when a person that has no insurance they going into hospital and Medicare pay for it. That mean the uninsured people get health care for free, that come out of tax dollars.
Going back and looking though the history of the United State on Healthcare. It seem like it is the same kind of issues that is stopping equal health care for all American citizens. A quote by Mark Twain Says - "We have the best government that money can buy." And how much the insurance companies pay for lobbyist. In the book, explains the history of the healthcare in the US. (Sherrow, V. 2009). Pg. 22.
In the year 1945, President Harry S. Tuman promoted a bill that would let citizens buy government health insurance. About half of all American had private insurance at the time and polls taken showed that 75 percent supported a national insurance. Then Republicans, South Democrats, Insurance companies and organized medicine opposed the plan, calling it, "Socialist" and Communist". Truman argued that his plan was a "voluntary plan" and was not socialistic but, it was defeated.
Let's think about something? The Affordable Care Act of 2010 is supposed to greatly expand enrollment in Medicaid in 2014. The Affordable Care Act will bring an end to some of the worst abuses of the insurance industry. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). So, if people had a choice to buy into Medicare at a lower cost. Do you think a lot of people would do so? But, wait a minute, which this is competition for the private and non-profit insurance companies. In Washington D.C, the insurance companies has spent $648 million lobbying on against the health care reform, they also poured $210 million into television advertising, according to Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks television commercials (SEELYE, K. Q. 2011, April 4). Retrieved from The New York Times:
Dr Christopher Murray, Director of World Health Organization on Global Programmer on Evidence for Health Policy says:
"Although significant progress has been achieved in past decades, virtually all countries are under- utilizing the resources that are available to them. This leads to large numbers of preventable deaths and disabilities; unnecessary suffering, injustice, inequality and denial of an individual’s basic rights to health."
"The poor are treated with less respect, given less choice of service providers and offered lower- quality amenities," says Dr Brundtland. "In trying to buy health from their own pockets, they and become poorer.
With the growing number of people who cannot get treatment on demand in the USA because they do not have the money. What it is doing is forcing many people to looking into alternative medicine to care of their health needs. Alternative medicine in the USA is growing by leaps and bounds in the last decade. Although some alternative medicine is covered by health insurance, it is estimated that $12.2 billion of the $21.2 billion spent on visits to alternative practitioners in 1997 was paid out-of-pocket. (The Institute for Alternative Futures, 1998, July). According to the Institute's report, by 2010 virtually all of US healthcare will operate under a new paradigm, one oriented to prevention, self-care and holism.
Alazraki, M. (2011, February 4). Health Insurers Post Healthy Profits but Remain Cautious on 2011 [ Pushback Against Health Care Reform ]. Retrieved 2011, from Daily Finance An AOL Money & Finance Site website http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/04/
Marshall, J. L., MD. (2011, February 23). Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege? [Healthcare Reform Bill]. Retrieved 2011, from Medscape Hematology-Oncology website: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/736705
Iinstitute for Alternative Futures. (1998, July). The Institute for Alternative Futures. Retrieved from http://www.altfutures.com/home
SEELYE, K. Q. (2011, April 4). Pro or Con, Lobbying Thrived [Newsgroup message]. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/pro-or-con-lobbying-thrived/
Sherrow, V. (2009). Universal Healthcare. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/
Theresa Tamkins, T. (2009, June/July 5). Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S bankruptcies [Newsgroup message]. Retrieved from CNN Health: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-05/health/bankruptcy.medical.bills_1_medical-bills-bankruptcies-health-insurance?_s=PM:HEALTH
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). The Affordable Care Act [Understanding the Affordable Care Act:]. Retrieved from http://www.healthcare.gov/law/introduction/index.html
World Health Report. (2000, June). World Health Organization Assesses the World's Health Systems [The World Health Organization has carried out the first ever analysis of the world's health systems.]. Retrieved 2011, from World Health Organization website: http://www.who.int/whr/2000/media_centre/press_release/en/
This Article was by Michelle At People's Natural Living: