Universal_Healthcare

Janae Williams Dr.LaMay English 1B July 21, 2009 Value-Claim Essay Universal Healthcare During an interview on sixty minutes Linda Sharp said, “I don’t want to die. I shouldn’t have to die. This is a county hospital. This is for people that, like me, have lost their insurance, have not any other resources. I mean I was a responsible person. I bought my house. I put money away. I raised my two children. And now I have nothing. You know my house isn’t worth anything. I have no money. And I said ‘What do I do, but what do all these other people do after me'’ ‘And they said we don’t know,’” Linda Sharp told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. Sharp, 63, has been fighting lymphoma since July. She’s not working because of her illness and has no insurance. Last year, she received charity care at the county hospital, University Medical Center. She was one of 2,000 patients who got the letter. “Dear patient, we regret to inform you that the Nevada Cancer Institute will no longer provide contract oncology services at University Medical Center,” Sharp read. This is the grim reality of what happens daily in America. The United States health care system insures a smaller portion of its citizens and spends much more on health care than any other industrialized nation. Health care affects each individual at some point in his life. Rising insurance premiums and health care costs make accessing health care more difficult, if not impossible, for a large percentage of Americans. Universal health care is a broad concept that has been implemented in several ways. The common denominator for all such programs is some form of government action aimed at extending access to health care as widely as possible and setting minimum standards. Most implement universal health care through legislation, regulation and taxation. Regulation and legislation direct what care must be provided, to whom, and on what basis. Usually, some costs are given by the patient at the time of consumption but the bulk of costs come from a combination of insurance and tax revenues. Some programs are paid just out of tax revenues. In some cases, government involvement also includes directly managing the health care system, but many countries have mixed public-private systems to deliver universal health care. Universal Healthcare is one thing needed in the United States because there are so many people that go without healthcare. The United States is said to be the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. Many people ask why' Why don’t you have universal healthcare if you are supposed to be the richest country in the world' According Umang Malhotra other wealthy nations like Japan, Australia, Canada , and rich European nations spend between 8 to 11% of GNP in health care and enjoy superior service and universal coverage. Surprisingly, Americans, the citizens of the wealthiest country in the history of the world, have a lower life expectancy rate, higher rates of heart disease and cancer, and an infant mortality rate that is twice as high as other rich industrialized nations. Even Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than the US according to CIA fact book. “Per dollar America spends much more and gets much less in return than other affluent Western nations when it comes to health care spending” (Malhotra). It is time for the American policymakers to stop bragging about their health care system and start acting on their hollow promises to find real solutions to health care crisis. It is expected that the United States health care spending would reach nearly 20% of GNP within next 10 years, which is unsustainable. According to Tommy Thomson, ex-secretary of Health and Human services, the number of un-insured will reach 54 million by year 2010, and health insurance coverage by small businesses will decline from 74% in 2005 to 60% in 2015. These are the key issues that emerge from the rising cost of health care and its affordability and accessibility: “America has the most fragmented health care system amongst the rich industrialized countries, with diverse entitlement programs managed at federal and state level” (Malhotra). This contributes to a lot of form filling and bureaucracy. On average over 25% of the dollars disappear in administration compared to less than 10% of health costs in other rich countries. Over 46 million people are un-insured and millions are under-insured, the cost of health care is rising at least twice as fast as the rate of economic growth, many of the small businesses especially in the service sector do not even provide health insurance to their employees. Most of the companies and city governments have not set aside enough money to meet health care obligations to retired employees, and the cost of prescription drugs is rising even faster than the general rise in health care costs. Many people may ask what has brought about this situation in health care and why is the cost rising so fast'  “It is because there is compartmentalization for the delivery of the health care system in the United States due to diverse entitlement programs, i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans and many others administered by federal, state and county governments. There is also a great deal of fragmentation of private health care insurance”(Malhotra) Over 1500 health insurers handle the private insurance market, each with unique health policies with different amounts of deductibles. In California alone there are nearly 150 combinations of drug insurance policies with different deductibles. “Outpatient hospital spending is up more than 16 percent. Prescription drug spending is up nearly 14 percent. Inpatient care is also up 7 percent. And overall, for the first time in more than a decade, Americans’ health care spending in 2001 rose at double-digits over the previous year, growing by 10 percent” (Cross). Unfortunately, that increase was not just a one-time spike; health care spending now accounts for a larger share of the economy than food, housing or national defense. “By the end of the decade, our spending on health care is expected to double, unless all of us which includes insurers, drug companies, hospitals, physicians, lawmakers, employers and consumers begin working together to address the root causes of the problem.” (Cross) If we can come together we will be able to make this healthcare situation better for all people. Many people who are against universal healthcare would say with universal health care will cost to much for Americans just like it does in other countries. But would it really' “There is no question that the health insurance industry in America has failed at their ostensible goal: To provide health insurance to the people in this country” (McCane). The people of America have enough troubles to worry about within each society like gang violence and drugs. There are many single parents out in the world struggling trying to do the right thing. It doesn’t help when healthcare costs almost as much as their paycheck. Their products are not affordable, they waste far too much money on administrative overhead, profit, and marketing, and they spend their days figuring out how to deny people the care they paid for. They will always put their profits over our health. The United States spends at least 40% more per capita on health care than any other industrialized country with universal health care. If universal healthcare comes into play the United states would be able to save money. Single payer universal health care costs would be lower than the current US system due to lower administrative costs. The United States spends 50 to 100% more on administration than single payer systems. “By lowering these administrative costs the United States would have the ability to provide universal health care, without managed care, increase benefits and still save money” (Battista). Hillary Clinton stated in her speech “I won't pay for it by pouring money into a broken system. I won't pay for it by raising taxes on middle class families who are already struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. Instead, I'll pay for part of it by implementing the cost saving measures I outlined in May. And I will pay for some of it by rolling back part of President Bush's fiscally irresponsible tax breaks for the highest income Americans. And I'll pay for some of it by limiting the tax breaks for people making over $250,000 a year” (Clinton). Her plan seems like a plan that Americans should stand by. Others may say universal healthcare would deprive citizens of needed services. I conducted a interview on July 15, 2009 with a fellow classmate and I asked her What myths have you heard about Universal Healthcare' She answered “i have heard that in Europe its failing, that they’re poor because of it. It doesn’t make sense to me, we pay taxes it should go to something worth while” (Perry). This statement makes sense when you think about it because all citizens would need care and their thought is there won’t be enough doctors to help all people. But, studies reveal that citizens in universal health care systems have more doctor visits and more hospital days than in the US. The US denies access to health care based on the ability to pay. Under a universal health care system all would access health care. There would be no lines as in other industrialized countries due to the oversupply in our providers and infrastructure, and the willingness/ability of the United States to spend more on health care than other industrialized nations. “There would be no lines under a universal health care system in the United States because we have about a 30 percent oversupply of medical equipment and surgeons, whereas demand would increase about 15 percent” (Battista). This is a shame that our country is this bad. Since this is such a rising problem in the United States you may be asking how do we fix it' The beginning of the solution to rising health care costs is understanding the root of the problem. Upon examination, it becomes clear that the factors that have led to the increasing cost of health care are multiple and complex. “Increased spending for hospital services is partly tied to rising labor costs, uncompensated care of uninsured and underinsured individuals, and investments in expensive, state-of-the-art equipment” (Cross). They also mentioned the increased spending for prescription drugs is partly tied to widespread use. In 2000 alone there were more than 10 prescriptions filled for every man, woman and child in America, and the heavy amount of direct-to-consumer advertising by drug companies, which totaled $2.5 billion in 2000, a 14 percent increase over the year before (Cross). This type of excessive spending could be changed if universal healthcare was implemented into our system. There are also other ways this system can be fixed. Knowing that many other countries have universal healthcare we can learn from them, since their economy seems to be doing well. Germany has the world's oldest universal health care system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck's Health Insurance Act of 1883. As mandatory health insurance, it originally applied only to low-income workers and certain government employees, but has gradually expanded to cover virtually the entire population. Currently 85% of the population is covered by a basic 'Statutory Health Insurance' plan, which provides the standard level of coverage. The remainder opt for private health insurance, which frequently offers additional benefits. “Germany's health care system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded as of 2004” (Coutsoukis). Each of the Countries of the United Kingdom has a National Health Service that provides public healthcare to all UK permanent residents that is free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. However, since Health is a devolved matter, considerable differences are developing between the systems in each of the countries. China is undertaking a reform on its universal health care system. The New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System is a new 2005 initiative to overhaul the healthcare system, particularly intended to make it more affordable for the rural poor. Under the NRCMCS, the annual cost of medical cover is 50 yuan (US$7) per person. Of that, 20 yuan is paid in by the central government, 20 yuan by the provincial government and a contribution of 10 yuan is made by the patient. As of September 2007, around 80% of the whole rural population of China had signed up (about 685 million people). On 21 January 2009, the Chinese government announced that a total of 850 billion yuan will be provided between 2009 and 2011 in order to improve the existing health care system (Chua). There is one thing that these countries have in common, that is universal healthcare. That gives their people a security of knowing they will be covered regardless of their health circumstances. We might be tempted to sit back and wait for someone else to solve the problem, but the truth of the matter is, as health care consumers, we all have a role to play in keeping health care affordable. When it comes to the cost of health care, choices make a difference. Making an informed choice on pro universal healthcare can help make the wealthiest country in the world intact and within reach for all of us. It is time to act. A newer health care system must be implemented; one that is inclusive and fair, and provides basic security for each and everyone in the nation. Knowledge, facts and data, and, lessons learned from the experiences of people in America and other nations are out there. It is time to act on the most important domestic issue of all, and create a universal health care system. This is not the time to be idealistic; health care in America is too much of a crisis. If we can create a system that gives a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all, and that system can pass through Congress why not vote yes. Let there be no fear factor for people in America to go and visit their doctor.