The Debate over Socialized Healthcare The topic of socialized healthcare has been a hot topic for awhile, with both sides having great arguments it’s hard to make a decision. Both sides should strive to meet in the middle, so less people will suffer the consequences of not having healthcare. No matter what side people take it is obvious that a change needs to happen. Our current health care system is a mess, and no one is benefiting from the system, expect for the greedy drug and insurances companies. The current health care system needs a change, and to change we need to identify the problems and come up with sustainable solutions. One side of the debate believes that socialized healthcare is the solution to fix America’s health care crisis, and wants everyone to receive care. The other side believes that socialized healthcare is not the solution. If people wanted health care they should pay for it. The start of this debate stems from current issues on health care in the United States.
With health insurance becoming increasingly unaffordable the overall health of USA has gone down. “The cost of health care keeps rising 7% each year” (Collins, R,2011, paragraph 2), with costs rising health insurance coverage is going down, making it more difficult for people to pay to get treatment. Without the right medical help and check ups its hard to sustain a healthy lifestyle to prolong life. “People shouldn’t have to pay to live a healthy life” (Davenport, K, 2012 para.3), as a society Americans should care about its citizens and help them live a healthy life. “To many US citizens die because they don’t get the care they need” (Davis, J, 2012, para 1), it is not fair to people to die just because they don’t have insurance. Even if people are insured they may not be able to go to the doctor as much as they would like because it costs too much, “40% of insured American did not fill a medical prescription or skipped a medical appointment because they couldn’t afford the care”(Collins R, 2006, pg.1). The current healthcare system makes it impossible for people to receive care, which is not fair to the majority because the health care system risks the health of Americans over money. Another issue that has caused the debate is the quality of care people receive. As a country if we are spending so much money on health care it would be logical to believe that we have the best health care in the world, but that is wrong. The US average quality of health care is a little below average. If better care was given to patients “16% of deaths in hospitals,” (Davis, J, 2012, para. 2) wouldn’t happen over medical mistakes. Also people wouldn’t “receive treatment for conditions that didn’t need it” (Moyniham, R., 2012, para.3), because doctors would better understand how to help their patients, because of this people pay for unnecessary treatments. If quality of health care went up cost and deaths would go down. The quality of the care is also jeopardized for people because medical providers are too concerned over coverage and insurance. Doctors and patients should only have to worry about the care being provided not coverage. Problems with the health care system are very concerning to Americans. “64% of Americans that have insurance are not satisfied with the current health care system” (Langer, G, 2012, page 11). Americans agree that a fundamental change needs to occur, so improvements can take place in providing care for everyone. Americans want to take back control of the health care system, people want “quality care over coverage” (Pibel, D, 2006 pg.3), they would much rather have no health care plan and receive care. The American people also want the government to step in and set regulations to help keep costs down, but they do not want the government to take complete control. By voicing their opinions of a balance of quality care and affordable care to politicians, Americans make it very clear they want a change to occur. They believe the lives of people shouldn’t be risked because companies are greedy; there shouldn’t a price to live a healthy life. Every person should have the right to health care, weather they are rich or not. The cost of health care has become a burden for many. People do not want to skip out on having coverage so they endure the high rates and poor care. “Half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical bills” (Banks, J, 2006, para, 3), this astonishing number should be enough to make law makers and health care providers reevaluate the cost of health care. In the next couple of decades the cost of health insurance will “cost more than the median income of an American household” (Young, J, 2012), which is unacceptable because almost all American will be in debt. “One in Five Americans are paying off debt” (Collins, R, 2006, para.4), with the way health care is going down, soon everyone will be in debt. “Millions of Americans are already paying off 100,000 dollars in debt” (Pibel, D, 2006 para.1), in the next few years that amount will go up if changes don’t occur. Also people who do have healthcare are not the only ones suffering, “a survey shows that cost was the leading reason why people did not get health care.” (Young, J, 2012) These people go on there day to day lives hoping to not get sick because they will end up picking up the tab for it. Everyone rich or poor should be able to afford health care, so they can lead better lives. Having health care should not be a luxury it should be a common right. All most all industrialized countries have realized that having health care services should be a common right, except the USA. The United States is falling behind the rest of the world, as a society we view our selves as being ahead of the curve, but in this case we aren’t anywhere near becoming world leaders in universal health care coverage. The United States “tied with Hungry and Slovakia as having the highest infant mortality rate in the industrialized world” (Aher, J, 2012, para.4), also the “United States ranked 37th out of 191 nation for having the best health care services” (Murray, C, 2010, para.3). The horror of how poor Americas health care is doesn’t end there the “ the US ranked 43rd in female adult mortality, 42nd in male adult mortality, and 36th for life expectancy” ( Murray, C, 2012, para.4), these staggering numbers should make US lawmakers realize why everyone needs health care services. By being able to provide everyone with health care we will be able to compete with industrialized countries that do have health care for all their residents. Providing health care for all residents is important, so the US can change the health care system. Certain residents suffer more than others because their health requirements are not being met. Women in particular suffer more than men because it is harder for them to receive proper healthcare, which is sad because “women utilize healthcare more then men because of their reproductive services, so women should receive more care” (Smith, J, 2012, pg.3). Women need this care so they can lead better lives for their kids and families. “6.9 million women are in need of some sort of medical treatment that can be life saving, but are not receiving the treatment” (Caine, L, 2011, para.7), because of lack of money, or proper care. Women also found it “difficult to find health care during pregnancies” (Garson, A, 2010, pg. 3). If it were easier for women to have babies it could prevent other things such as birth defects or even abortion, because women wouldn’t have to worry about the health of their child. It is important that the US help women, and provides them with better care, so they can have babies and not worry about terminal illness such as cancer to affect them. That is why the US should have socialized health, so all its residents can lead healthy lives, no matter what gender. Another group of residents that suffer due to not having health care coverage are minorities. “There is a huge gap between the quality of care between whites and minorities” (Collins, B, 2011, para3), that is partially due to their economic status. Since health care is so expensive it is hard for these already struggling people to pay the cost of insurance. Due to this “minorities die earlier and suffer from health conditions longer” (Roelofs, T, 2011, para.1). It is not far that just because of their economic status they have to have poor health care. Health care shouldn’t only be available to Caucasian people, but everyone. That is not the only bad thing affecting minorities, “infant mortality among minorities is higher because they cannot afford good health care” (Roelofs, T, 2011, para 2), not only do they suffer but their children do as well. The cause of all this is not because they do not want to provide their own health care, they simply cannot. “Wages for low income/ minorities are stagnating and health care cost are rising” (Young, J, 2012, para.2), they can’t keep up with all the increases, because they have other monetary responsibilities. Money is not the only reason why minorities lack good health it is also their lifestyles. “Minorities tend to have bad health because not having enough exercise or availability to healthy food” (Roeloffs, T, 2011, para 4). They live in areas which are mostly urban so there are not any farms to provide healthy food. Also they may not have safe play grounds, parks, and gyms available because the areas they live in are dangerous. Having health insurance should not have anything to do with your economic status, everyone should be treated equal. Minorities are not the only US residents without good health care, young adults are suffering as well. Typically young adults are either put off from their parents insurance or it coverage is not extended past a certain year, leaving them without health care coverage. “Young adults between the age of 19-25 use their parents worked based coverage” (Singletary, M, 2012, para 2) when this coverage runs out the kids are left in a tough spot. They usually just graduated college or are currently students, so they will not be able to afford the high costs of health care coverage. “Two and five young working age Americans are uninsured” (Collins, R, 2006, para 5), with so many without insurance, their needs to be a way to help them get coverage. The other problem is “Young adults that do have their own coverage will skip appointments and filling prescriptions to avoid a costly bill” (Singletary, M, 2012, para 12). Health care coverage is needed when people are young, so that when they do get older their health will not be as poor. By the US having socialized health care young adults can be independent because they won’t have the burden of relaying on their parents for help, or breaking the bank because of a costly health insurance bill.