Research Paper On Universal Health Care

From digmovements

We live in a world where gas is almost 5 dollars a gallon, we have children with cell phones, computers that only mad scientist could think about. Yet also as we enter into the 21st century in the United States of America we also have many Americans that are uninsured. It is not uncommon for many of people to choose between eating or medication, the price of health care has reached such a critical level that the option of universal health care must be addressed and discussed. Within this paper I hope to inform and also perhaps shine a new light on this problem that faces many Americans alike. I don’t think I am creating the wheel but perhaps giving my take as a college student who feels that there should be something done about this problem of universal health care. I know from my own experience of not having health insurance that it is a big problem not just for me but for people that don’t have insurance also. I chose this topic because it’s something that has affected me and my family alike. The idea of universal health care started some time after World War 2. In the aftermath of the war, people in England were broken down and hurting. So the government of England decided that it was in the best interest of the people to have universal health care that was free. At the time it was seen as something that would cost a lot of money but in the long term was a good investment towards building a society. However in America people did not think health care was such the problem that it needed to be addressed or fixed. At the time America was a country that had enough money to not have to worry about putting a universal health care plan into works.

In the article “Formula For Compromise” by Cathy Schoen, Karen Davis, and Sara R. Collins discuss the lay out to fix health care in the United States.  The plan the have come up with address all the issues of the problem while at the same provides ideas of why there is a problem.

(1) provide access and affordability, with a national minimum standard of benefits, and financial protection relative to income; (2) offer choice of physicians and health plans; (3) lower administrative costs; (4) share responsibility for financing among government, business, households, and other stakeholders; and (5) pool health risk broadly, with market rules to limit competition based on health risk in private or public markets. These ideas provide a basic plan of how to fix health care and make it affordable and accessible for everyone. The real issue is not following these ideas but rather addressing the cost to provide health care. As it stands right now it cost companies over (Schoen 647) 420 billion dollars to cover their employees. So to change the current system would require the federal government to make many of changes along with companies agreeing to change the system also. As many critics of universal health care point out it would cost too much money to change the current system because of how infrastructure is already set, they also point to that some people like the current system. It is quite easy to understand why people would prefer the current system as it something they already know and change sometimes can be slow and time consuming. In order to make universal health care in the USA a reality is to make sure is the best health care that people can get. People opposed to universal health care bring up the idea that with universal health care there would be sub par care and that the expense to cover all everyone would far exceed the current cost. These people consist of doctors and medical companies that see their profit margins hurt by universal health care. In the article Formula For Compromise they cover this issue with 5 steps, to make health care affordable, to silence these critics. (Schoen 650) Premium assistance. All of those with health insurance coverage at tax filing time would be eligible for advanceable, refundable tax credits for premium expenses in excess of 10 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI), or 5 percent for those in the 15 percent or lower marginal income tax bracket. Premium assistance would be benchmarked to insurance connector rates. The assistance would be available to all, including Medicare beneficiaries.

Their plan seems feasible in that it addresses a lot of the problems with the current system along with dealing with all the cost that would come with changing over to a new system. That is not to say everything will go as planned and will be instantly good, this plan would be slow and take some time to get put into place. The flipside of doing nothing is to face growing health care cost that will get past a point where nobody can afford to go to the doctor. Choice is a real problem with universal health care. It’s important to find the right doctor for the right person. Some people feel as though, with universal health care we would be stuck in a system where we wouldn’t have any choices. The article titled, Do Patients Have Responsibilities in Free Market system: A personal Perspective by Murat Civaner and Berna Arda discuss the responsibility of patients and doctors duties to know what is wrong with their health (Civaner 268). I feel as though this article is a good starting point to refute that people won’t have choice when it comes to their health. This article gives a real solid argument to support of people being in charge of their own health and shows a way of which both doctors and patients should interact in a way that’s not only efficient but just the most logical way of making universal health care a real viable option (Civaner 264). Ultimately universal health care falls on the government to implement change and to maintain the status quo. Without a strong government behind health care we can not fathom having a system of universal health care. Expecting the government to cover all the up front cost seems a bit unreasonable because there would be many companies that would come off the hook of providing health care to their employees in a universal system. In the article “Building Blocks for Reform” (Schoen 654) the idea of a shared cost between the government and private companies so that all people that work and that are not working would be covered. The article goes on to point how the current system of Medicare would be enhanced by the possibility of more money coming from the government and companies to create Medicare extra. Medicare would exist to provide things that were not coverage by medicare which in so many words would be a supplement. It is not to outrageous to think that universal health care work as there is several models from which the system has been implemented and been very successful, in the article titled “Universal Mandatory Health Insurance In the Netherlands A model for the United States?” By Wynnad P.P.M. van and de ven and Fredick T. Scutt examine how universal health care was put into play in the Netherlands. It is laid out in three waves which follow like this… (Schut 773) - First wave towards universal coverage (from 1940-1970) The government of the Netherlands a minimum level of health coverage. - Second wave cost containment by government (1970-2000) Government puts limits on spending of health care so it doesn’t get out of control. -Third Wave efficiency through managed competition (from about 2000 on) To create the best health system the government introduced a system which incentives were to create competition so that the health care people get is the best With this system in play the Dutch have been able to not only provide their citizens with affordable health care but also were able to reward insurance companies and doctors to provide the best health care possible. In order to for all this to work though, Dutch citizens are required to pay 7.2 percent of their annual income that goes towards paying health care in their country (Schut 772). All insurance companies are required to accept all applicants, meaning they can’t turn anyone away for health reasons. All together it makes for a system that is able to sustain itself and keep on providing for it citizens (Schut 773). Economic disparity is a big reason for the need of universal health care. Families should never have to choose wither to get their kids shots or pay for groceries. Universal health care would level the disparity between the rich and poor, it almost seems like the most ethnical idea in that a government wouldn’t see its people as poor and rich but as just people. People deserve to age with some dignity and should not have to worry about bills a point that is argued in an editorial by N. Keating In his article, (Keating 99)he talks about how evolving the system of health is important for not just old people but everyone that lives in America. He argues, that order to keep people from dying at such a young age, the government needs to do something to put into play a system of universal health care. It is as he would say it the crux of the situation because the government needs to do something before it’s too late. He then goes on to say that if we do nothing health care cost are only going to get more out of control. The movement of health care is mainly doctors and concerned citizens that think there should be something done. Michael Moores’ film Sicko was of the first major film to address this problem and his use of personal stories to illustrate the problem only further demonstrated there truly is people that believe that we need to do something. I believe his film shifted a center in America that caused many of politicians to have to address what they would do about health care. For all major presidential candidates is a real hot button issue that people will have to weigh in and decide who is the best candidate for taking on health care (Moore 2007). The Republican Party major candidate John McCain stance is that the government should give companies vouchers for 2500 to provide health care for there employees and that government and business would share the cost of health care but mainly falling on the business to cover. The real problem with this plan though is that insurance companies would only insure healthy people. Ultimately the people that aren’t healthy would be left out in the dark to find their own insurance which would still be expensive. The Republicans plan does not address people that are out of work which might make it less of a plan. On the flip side you have the Democrats who want somewhat what a revised version of the current system, the current leader of Barack Obama wants Medicare to reform so that people are covered by both the government and their companies but the cost falling more on the company with no turning down of people based on health. As it stands both parties have a plan the Democrats plan being a bit more government oriented and the Republicans having a position that is more business friendly. As I have stated many times in this paper something needs to be done about health care and for the most part all the moving parts of the movement are doing what they can to bring about some sort of change. The problem with many movements though is the fact they take years to see any progress. Health care is not going to be solved with a couple strokes of a pen because it’s more than just throwing money at the problem. It is many of peoples life’s at stake. With that said I don’t think as a society we can sit by the way side and do nothing. In fact, I think that what got us here in the first place is doing nothing. I have learned in the process of writing and researching this paper that to solve the problem I had to educate myself on the issues of health care and all sides of the argument. The knowledge I have a gained through this whole process has made me want to seek out and find out what I can do to make universal health care a reality. It is a movement that’s worth knowing and writing about because it faces all people and will continue to be a problem until something is done and dealt with. When looking at any movement in America we must understand that a movement is only as good as the people who stand behind it and I think for the most part as a country there are many of people working hard to find solutions to this problem.