I grew up in a country that had universal healthcare. I was always able to see a doctor or dentist when necessary and never thought anything of it. I moved to the United States when I was 17 years old and was at that time still covered under my parents' healthcare. I really had no idea how different the healthcare would be in the United States compared to the Netherlands where I grew up. When I got married and started to work full time I needed insurance as I was no longer covered under my parents plan (pre Obama care) and so I started to slowly see how important healthcare would become in my life. Money was taken out of each of my paychecks and there were even times when I could not take a different job because they would not offer insurance. My then husband visited the doctor a lot and was on a lot of medications. I quickly realized how expensive life would become if we did not have insurance. I never had these same concerns growing up in a country where healthcare or access to it was never limited to only those who could afford it. As a family we quickly went into debt when we had emergency room visits because of Asthma that would cost us over a $1000 even with insurance. I went through bankruptcy twice during my marriage because of routine medical treatment, emergency surgeries and injuries that buried us in thousands of dollars of debt with only me working to provide for a family of 4.
Industrial nations throughout the world, with the notable exception of the United States, provide their citizens with some form of national health care and national health insurance (Russell, 2011)
Although these national health insurance programs are not perfect—for example, people sometimes must wait for elective surgery and some other procedures—they are commonly credited with reducing infant mortality, extending life expectancy, and, more generally, for enabling their citizens to have relatively good health. Their populations are generally healthier than Americans, even though health-care spending is much higher per capita in the United States than in these other nations. In all these respects, these national health insurance systems offer several advantages over the health-care model found in the United States (Reid, 2010)
So why is the United States not taking care of their citizens in the same way? Why do we have families going into debt to make sure they are healthy? If America is considered one of the wealthiest nations then why are many going hungry, homeless, or without proper healthcare? I don’t think most Americans are educated on how beneficial Universal Health Care would be to everyone. The argument I hear most often is that people don’t want their taxes to go up to pay for someone else to have healthcare, or they don’t want to “share” the burden of the poor/homeless/sick because it really doesn’t affect them personally. People are afraid that the changes to them personally would outweigh the benefits because they may be in good health and so they don’t see themselves as part of the problem. We all will age and get older and we all will need healthcare at some point in our lives even if we do not right now.
If the elderly have more health problems, then adequate care for them is of major importance. They visit the doctor and hospital more often than their middle-aged counterparts. Medicare covers about one-half of their health-care costs; this is a substantial amount of coverage but still forces many seniors to pay thousands of dollars annually themselves. Some physicians and other health-care providers do not accept Medicare “assignment,” meaning that the patient must pay an even higher amount. Moreover, Medicare pays little or nothing for long-term care in nursing homes and other institutions and for mental health services. All these factors mean that older Americans can still face high medical expenses or at least pay high premiums for private health insurance. (6.5 Problems facing older Americans)
Having a government that will take care of everyone regardless of race, sex, income, or anything else, would be the best solution for all. I don’t want my kids to worry about where they are going to get insurance once they turn 26 and can no longer be covered under me. I don’t want my daughter to go into debt every time she visits the doctor/specialist or emergency room for stomach issues no one seems to be able to explain. As a 21 year old she should not experience the stress associated with having access to insurance or money to pay for seeing a doctor when she needs it.
Reid, T. R. (2010). The healing of America: A global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
Russell, J. W. (2011). Double standard: Social policy in Europe and the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/6-5-problems-facing-older-americans-2/
Russell, J. W. (2011). Double standard: Social policy in Europe and the United States (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/6-5-problems-facing-older-americans-2/
[Paper written for SOC 1020 class UVU Spring 2023]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
