Universal Health Care

Apr 05, 2008 - 06:54 AM PST

If you live in US and not underneath a rock, you would know that this upcoming election is big. One of the major debates amongst candidates is universal health care. I’ll be honest as an American I really did not know what the hell they were talking about. In the simplest of nutshells the government ensures that everyone be eligible to receive health care services no matter if you are able to pay for the services or not. Think of it as health care insurance that the government runs. Who funds it this? Everybody funds it. Yes, taxes would have to go up. Much like our taxes pays for the police department, fire department, libraries, schools, and military, our taxes will pay for universal health care. Of course this is just a super simplified explanation of universal health care. I encourage readers to take the time to do their own research on the topic. For those not a fan of research, check out Michael Moore’s documentary/movie called Sicko.

I am very much in favor of the US developing a universal health care system. How many of are working at a job in part because we get a health care plan that the company’s HR department had already chosen? Everyone knows someone who lost their job, and thus their health care insurance for themselves and their family. Even those who do have HMO plans with insurance companies sometimes get denied services. Let’s face it insurance companies are businesses. Their goal is to make money. They want people to continue to pay into programs with the hope that the will never need an expensive procedure or a god forbid on going treatments. Again, do the research; there are thousand of people who have lost their homes to pay for treatments. Their are thousands of people who had insurance yet died because insurance companies thought of certain life saving procedures as “experimental”. There are the poor and disables to receive the most minimal of services, if any, simply on account they are poor.

In a way I feel like someone lied to me. Universal healthcare exists in other countries like Canada, Cuba, England, Norway, France, and the list goes on. Citizens of the United States pay for most for health care (http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=482678). Try this and see what happens: next time you need to go to the ER or get a check up, tell them that you do not have insurance, and see what happens. People who have low income are denied services on account they cannot pay for treatments that could literally save their lives. I believe that health care should be seen as fundamental rights. We should not be saying that only people who can afford health care have the right to say healthy. Human beings should not be thrown away account they cannot pay to live.

In the US prenatal care is not so great. Pregnant women are not expected to work up to their eighth month of pregnancy in other countries. They are not expected to return to work after only two or three months off. Did you know that the US has one of the worst newborn death rates (http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/index.html)? I some other countries, after birth women can take a whole year off of work to proper take care of the newborn.

In other countries you don’t have to contact their HMO prior to calling for an ambulance. Some countries have emergency doctors who will drive out to your home in the middle of the night to provide preliminary examinations and prescribe prescriptions.

I could rant and rave about why we need universal health care all day long, but my main goal was just to get the concept out there. I welcome any comments or debates. In all honesty universal health care is just one cultural notches that I think we have wrong. We need to change our concepts of what is right and wrong, what is just and unjust, what is moral and immoral.