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The Role of Government in the U.S. Health Care System

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I strongly believe that healthcare is a basic human right; however, the reality is that health care is often based on privilege and/or driven by employer benefits. There are many factors to consider when discussing healthcare as a basic human right. All individuals, regardless of income, race, or status should be treated equally when it comes to safe, effective, and quality health care. Even though I believe healthcare should be a human right, we have to consider how this would be feasible among different populations and societies. According toMaruthappu, Ologunde, and Gunarajasingam (2012) “a fundamental difficulty with considering healthcare as a right is that this right, unlike many others, is dependent upon the resources of a society, and the ability to meet the demands of the population without disparity in distribution and allocation of medical care (para 4).

The government plays a significant role in the U.S. health care system. Without the support of the government, many companies would likely struggle to be able to offer employees health insurance. “With the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), government’s role has expanded dramatically, especially when it comes to insurance coverage” (Knickman & Kovner, 2015, p 29, para 2). In addition to jointly funding Medicaid programs and making health insurance more accessible for all individuals, the government provides tax incentives to companies to encourage them to offer health insurance to their employees (Knickman & Kovner).

I believe that the government has a role in not only providing funding for health care but also to focus on programs to ensure safe, quality care for all individuals. As mentioned in this week’s learning video, the United States is way behind in providing affordable health care compared to other industrialized countries. Patients in the United

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