Running head: UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE PROGRAM 1
United States should have a Universal Healthcare Program for its Residents
The current U.S. healthcare system is peculiar compared to that of any other advanced and industrialized country. This is because it is not universal. It is, however, evident that most of, although publicly financed, the healthcare provided is delivered privately hence making it challenging for those who are not insured to access the healthcare services. This constitutes to around 45 million Americans and the question to be considered is, if the government does not cater to the low-class economy, who will?
A single-payer healthcare system is a form of a universal healthcare system that enables the government to dictate terms through negotiating and setting standards for drug prices and healthcare providers all over the country . However, debates on whether the government should adopt this technique or not have been around since 1954, when the bill for the Benefit of the indigent was first proposed by the federal government. Another major initiative was implemented in the New Deal legislation of the early 1930s, during the Great Depression. The debate has been subjected to political reforms since the early 20 th century. Alternative proposal were provided by both the key political candidates back in 2008 and 2016, during the presidential elections. So, is the adoption of the universal healthcare system an option to the country or should it stick the current healthcare system?
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Just like any other basic need, healthcare provision is also an essential need for every human being. The government would reach out to the hearts of most low-income individuals who cannot afford healthcare if they provide a universal healthcare system. The question that most citizens have been asking is why can’t America as well adopt single-payer system when most of the industrialized economies have been doing it for decades? It is evident that equal chances of medication resulting from the single-payer healthcare system will help reduce the costs of healthcare provision and as well the cost of drugs effectively. The government can set price standards in order to favor each individual especially those who cannot afford the current private healthcare provision system. However, concerns as to whether the standards of hospital and doctors’ services will also reduce are one of the key reasons why some individuals oppose the universal healthcare system. Nevertheless, this should not be the case since the health of many individuals is at stake due to their inability to access private healthcare systems (Kaldenbaugh, 2017).
The single-payer healthcare system is the way to go considering several leaders with their vast range of experiences, as once Hillary Clinton recommended, “Now is the time for the country to adopt this system”. This will enable services such as early childhood care which helps to reduce social costs like welfare dependency, health issues, and crime in the future. The single-payer healthcare system is mainly funded by taxes from citizens even though not all of them utilize the funds. The funds mostly cater for patients with chronic diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes which constitute to almost 85% of the total healthcare cost.
Currently, the U.S. government spends thrice as much as other industrialized economies spend on healthcare, and yet our services are not the best; to what extent is this practice ironical? The excessive funds spent could play a role in other sectors such as the education sector or even the transport sector. It is not a guarantee that this high expense will result in better medical provision since other economies using the universal healthcare system also provide quality healthcare provision. As a matter of fact, the U.S. ranks 28 th in healthcare provision, almost below all the other rich economies. So why exactly should the country continue with the current healthcare system?
The current healthcare system in the country
is primarily constituted of the drug firms and health technology companies who have a market worth of over $3 trillion. Collectively, they have an incentive to sustain a system that allows them to initiate prices without negotiating with the government. Their efforts to monopolize the healthcare system were evident on the 2016 electorate U.S. campaigns whereby they collectively contributed to over $300 million. Adoption of the single-payer system will thus revoke the system by posing some control hence affecting their profit margins. However, their control over several parties should not hinder the government from doing what is right and what is expected of them.
Adoption of the universal healthcare system will save the government on excessive expensive, however, it will also have an impact to the number of people currently employed by life and health insurance companies (Moore, 2018). Nevertheless, the government could still train them into other careers in order to make them sustain their livelihoods. Moreover, since the economy has the mandate to serve each and every citizen of the country, adoption of the universal healthcare system should be considered in an effort to equalize the provision of healthcare across the economy and also regulate drug prices and healthcare costs across the economy. If the government fails to establish the single-payer healthcare system, most low-income individuals will continue to suffer and even die due to the country’s expensive healthcare.
Generally, the idea of the United States having a universal healthcare for its residents seems to outweigh the disadvantages of not having one. Adoption of this program will enable the government to focus some of its resources that are currently being wasted on the health sector to other areas such as the education sector. Adoption of this program will also help the lower-class economy to have equal chances of healthcare as the rest of the economy and hence live a healthier life than the current Obamacare which has left around 45 million Americans uninsured. Lastly, the general cost of healthcare will reduce since the government will negotiate and dictate the prices of drugs and medical services, which was previously done by the pharmaceutical sector (Moore, 2018).
Conclusion
In sum, the U.S. currently spends three times more on healthcare provisions compared to any other industrialized nation globally. The government’s lack of a universal healthcare program not only affects the government’s expenditure but also the general public who often pay more in order to access effective medical services. Therefore, from the above discussion, it is evident that the government’s decision to have a universal healthcare program will benefit the whole economy at large.
References
Kaldenbaugh, H. (2017). Government to blame for no universal healthcare. Medical Economics , (24), 10.
Moore, G. A. (2018). Why Universal Healthcare Is a Trend in the U.S. International Journal of the Academic Business World , 12 (1), 103–106.
A majority of the population in the U.S. is still not sure if the government should adopt the universal healthcare system or not. The Obamacare healthcare system seems to satisfy a great score of individuals who view it as a secure mode of healthcare. However, this is not the case as around 45 million Americans are currently uninsured by the present healthcare system.
