Biomedical Ethics / Healthcare
Globally, more than 100 million people are pushed into poverty each year due to health care expenditure (Morris 2012; Bennet et al., 2010). This is an avoidable tragedy, and in the United States (U.S), the Obama administration sought to address it through ObamaCare. This affordable care act has faced a lot of opposition from Americans who claim that it is the most expensive care option in the U.S. Everyone in U.S desires healthcare since health care contributes significantly to the economy of the nation. The Obama care is expected to spend more per capita in funding compared to all countries in the developed world. Further, when both public and private healthcare are combined, the U.S still proves to have a higher per capita expenditure as compared to other relatively wealthy European countries. However, it is ironical that the country has few doctors per capita and fewer hospitals as compared to other countries yet more is spent on advanced diagnostics equipment and health tests. On the other hand, overpricing should be controlled and unnecessary treatment ought to be stopped. Overall, however, embracing a universal healthcare whereby free healthcare is a right for everyone is vital for the health of citizens and the nation (Bennet et al., 2010).
The world’s most expensive health system has been opposed by the liberals who claim that the cost is too high and as a result place blame on the conservatives. The liberals believe that the conservatives only care about the cutting of benefits and not helping people. The liberals, however, forget that the more the money spent on health, the less that will be spent on other valuable things. Since the liberals care so much about middle-class salaries, they also need to care about controlling the care costs every bit just as the conservatives do. A previous study proved that moderate increases in health care costs cause a significant increase in the hourly earnings. This is as compared to when workers’ total compensation increase the hourly wages, and subsequently the hourly wages increase by a minimal percentage. When the cost of health care increases, so do the number of uninsured Americans. This is due to the inability of employers to cover insurance for their employees, and as a result, they drop the insurance cover because it is too expensive. According to Bennett et al., (2010), this statement supports the fact that there is no group of people in the U.S that does not deserve healthcare. What the liberals fear is that an increase in medical costs may result in a corresponding rise in the national debt. This scenario is seen as likely to weaken the financial status of the U.S and subsequently diminish its financial position globally. This can be avoided by implementing a payment plan that will stop Medicare payments for tests and treatments that provide no benefit and endorse competitive bidding for medical goods and services.
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To manage healthcare systems, there is a need to raise sufficient resources, reduce financial risks and barriers, and ensure the efficient use of resources. This is because it will lead to efficient spending, whereby only required resources will be utilized hence cutting down on wastage. Addressing barriers to healthcare other than the direct payments for the care may also help. All countries, particularly the less wealthy ones need to reduce direct pocket payments for health care by increasing risk policy and prepayment system. This will ensure that everyone is covered by the insurance universally. According to Morris (2012), self-ownership and resource ownership ensures that individuals have ownership and there are no biases even in resource allocations. Justice and fairness will also be required during the distribution of material goods to members of the society.
Against this backdrop, no group in the U.S does not deserve healthcare. Consequently, all groups should be provided with proper healthcare since it is their right. Further, when health care is addressed to ensure affordability, inflation levels are reduced. This is because when a lot of money is spent on health care, less is likely spend on other things. Therefore, to be effective, health care should do away with unnecessary or even undesirable treatment. In conclusion, universal health care coverage is vital for a country, and its accessibility by all citizens cannot be overemphasized.
References
Bennett, S., Ozawa, S., & Rao, KD (2010). Which Path to Universal Health Coverage? Perspectives on the World Health Report 2010. PLoS Med 7(11): e1001001. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001001. Retrieved from: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001001
Morris, H. (28 June 2012). US Healthcare Costs more than Socialize European Medicine, NY Times : (NYT). Retrieved from http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/u-s-health-care-costs-more-than-socialized-european-medicine/
