The issue of whether or not the United States should implement a socialized or (universal) health care plan is a very difficult question to answer.In our class debate I learned facts about socialized health care plans that I was previously unaware of.By just observing our current free-enterprise health care system today individuals can see and experience obvious flaws in the system.Someone could get severely injured, be told their insurance company will not pay for their treatment, and end up spending their life savings in hospital bills.This happens all too often in our current system because unfortunately the health care industry is a business based upon the principles of capitalism.Even though capitalism has contributed greatly to the growth of our young nation by creating competition among individuals, businesses, and even large corporations it may not be the best answer when it comes to health care.Health insurance companies obviously understand that like other businesses it's survival of the fittest.Meaning their goal is to acquire clients and keep clients who they can use to make financial profits and gains.If insurance agencies like these are put into a situation where they could potentially lose money in the process of paying for a certain medical procedure for a client they will immediately drop the client because businesses are created to make profits and grow not to hand out charity.While this seems to be extremely cruel and harsh especially in situations that cause individuals and their families to become bankrupt or be denied for a life saving organ donation, etc.
This system helps to push more individuals to have the desire to become doctors, surgeons, and to overall work towards being employed somewhere within the medical field.Hospitals and pharmacy agencies also are forced to better their products and come up with new and more effective prescription drugs and treatments.This same type of competitive nature that exists in American business is what forces businesses to essentially increase their production of goods and their profits or to be eliminated and bought it.But even with capitalism helping this nation grow so rapidly I don't believe it should be applied to our nation's health care plan.I understand putting high prices on products such as big screen televisions, game systems, and big homes due to the fact that all of these things are not essential for all individuals to have but merely some of the items that people desire in life.Therefore making it very hard for many Americans to purchase what they "want" but our government seems to provide our citizens with everything they absolutely need except for health care.Our taxes pay for every child to attend public schools while also supplying food stamps, welfare checks, and government housing projects for the American population who is the most impoverished.I'm okay with individuals not being given plasma screen televisions and cars from the government payed for through the tax dollars of Americans.But to not supply health care which is a basic human need is just outrageous and wrong.
If we as a nation have realized that allowing all children to attend school regardless of socio-economic status and have also assisted individuals in feeding their families and helping them pay their bills why would we not supply this last and most important need in human life which is health care.All individuals deserve the right to be educated, have a place to live, and have something to eat so why would we deny them of their health care are we saying we've given them enough and they don't have the right to live healthily unless they can pay hefty sums of money on a daily basis.The individuals of society who we have supplied with public schooling, food stamps, and welfare checks are like I mentioned above some of the poorest individuals in this nation.These are the same individuals who primarily make up the portion of uninsured Americans today.Allowing only the wealthiest individuals in society the rightful privileges of life was an old American tradition that held down certain groups of individuals mainly including minorities.If we as a nation proclaim that every man is equal and has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Constitution then that is a downright lie.We held down minorities and individuals of low socio-economic status from attending school, getting sufficient education in schools, and from having acceptable and sufficient housing and food to eat at one point in America.But most people as a whole at one point agreed that everyone would receive these very barest essentials of life no matter what race they were or how much money they had.So why do we continue to hold down this same group of individuals from getting proper health care and most certainly saving more lives through preventative measures and proper treatments while we now only treat in reality some of the most privileged individuals in society.The wealthy and rich Americans are practicing the old American tradition of discrimination.And now prices on health insurance have risen so much that many middle class individuals also cannot get the efficient health care that they need.Since American tax dollars already help to pay for other socialized programs for American citizens we need to also provide the most essential of all which is someone's personal health.Wealthy individuals who are openly against a socialized health care plan for the nation sometimes claim that they would be paying more money for less quality care.This is not totally true as wealthier individuals can receive health care benefits above those of most others in a socialized plan with some extra fees.Ultimately the majority of individuals would save more money by paying for a socialized plan through their taxes than dealing with the massive health insurance premiums and prices of procedures and pharmaceutical drugs that they would have to purchase straight out of pocket.If the our nation is supposedly one of the greatest in the world then why is it that we cannot even take care of our own citizens and also have an infant mortality rate higher than some third world countries do.It seems as though the idea and common belief that perceives America as being a world superpower and watchdog is nothing but a common myth.With health insurance rates shooting through the roof nowadays and the economy in disarray wouldn't it be a great time if any at all to at least take care of our people's health.Because in my opinion an individual's personal health is rivaled by nothing els. For instance what difference does an individual's level of education, what they eat, and where they live make if they are dead from a chronic illness or disease which could have been prevented but was not.It's like the old saying goes "at least you have your health".Because if you're not healthy then it does not matter what else you might own because you will not be around long enough to enjoy it.People do not take into account that the individuals who fail to receive proper medical care include the common man, woman, and child nowadays.People should take into account that by denying certain individuals proper care you are in actuality sickening or killing a husband, wife, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, neise, nephew, etc.It's time that Americans look past money for once and make the right choice to at least take care of our fellow countrymen and women. Here is a link to a site that lists and explains the pros and cons of socialized health care: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm.
No comments:
Post a Comment