Health Insurance in the USA Essay Example

What is it that makes one person more deserving of a longer life than any other person? Is it fame? How many friends you have? Occupation? Religion? Education? Not quite. The answer, at least in the United States, is money and whether or not you have health insurance. The United States healthcare system is currently a privilege. It is out of reach for many and only serves those who can afford it. Too many Americans are dying too soon from treatable diseases because they do not have health insurance.

Picture a woman anxiously calling her doctor. She doesn't want to do this, but she doesn't know what else to do. The doctor answers the phone, and the woman tells the doctor that she has to stop her life-saving chemotherapy treatment for her cancer diagnosis. Continuing in the treatments means huge amounts of debt, bankruptcy, and a constant fear of passing medical debt onto family members if she passes away. The woman doesn’t qualify for Medicaid, and her employer doesn’t have health insurance options. While this scenario is not based on any one particular story, there are unfortunately many stories similar to this one. 

The United States consistently ranks around 50th in the world for the highest life expectancy. Yep, you read that correctly, 50th. Certainly, there are many factors as to why one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world has a less than adequate life expectancy. We could talk about how the food and drug administration (FDA) allows more preservatives than in other developed countries, which leads to more chronic disease; or how urbanization in the United States has increased air pollution and promoted sedentary lifestyles; or the obesity epidemic. But when we compare the United States to countries with high life expectancies, we see one common factor in all of those countries that the United States lacks - universal health care. In fact, the United States is the only developed country in the world without universal healthcare. 

So, what is universal healthcare? Simply put, universal healthcare is an assurance that people have access to the healthcare they need, whenever they need it, without facing financial hardship. Around 90% of the United States population is covered by health insurance. While this number may sound large, that still leaves 10% of people uninsured, which is a big number in a country of 320+ million people. Countries with the highest life expectancies have at least 99% percent of their population covered by health insurance.  

The question in this issue then becomes, if health insurance is saving lives, then why doesn’t the United States have some kind of universal health care? One reason, and perhaps the biggest, is the debate between healthcare being a privilege, or a right. Some believe healthcare is a privilege and that the only people who should be able to access healthcare are those who can afford it. While others believe that access to healthcare is a human right that should be available to everyone, regardless of employment status, income, etc. 

One common argument used by those who believe healthcare is a privilege is that universal health care would cost too much. Examples from developed countries all over the world have actually shown that the opposite is true. Countries that have successfully implemented universal health care are spending far less than the United States. For example, Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 84.9 years and spends only 10.7% of its total gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare. Contrast this with the United States, with no universal healthcare and a lower life expectancy of 79 years, which spends 19.7% of its GDP on healthcare. In other words, there is no fiscal way to explain not wanting universal healthcare.

The real answer to the question of what makes someone deserving of a long and happy life is to be human. Realizing that all humans are worthy of proper and decent healthcare no matter their job status, income, race, gender, etc. is basic humanity. This topic can be difficult to talk about, especially if you have health insurance and it doesn't affect you. Many questions need to be asked and answered. How do we implement universal healthcare in a country that has never had it? How exactly will it be paid for? Will increasing insurance coverage to cover all Americans raise taxes? These are all important questions. But what about the person who lives with chronic undiagnosed pain because they can't afford to go to the doctor? Or the person who gives up lifesaving treatment because they can’t afford it? We can't put off this important issue just because it makes us uncomfortable to talk about. America was founded on the principle found in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, and that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are among certain unalienable rights granted to all. Surely, a right to life includes the right to healthcare for all Americans.