3 of 21

Yes

Write now Article Tools

The United States absolutely needs to implement universal health care. It is a sad fact that the wealthiest country in the world is one of very few that does not make health care available to all of it's citizens. A vast majority of the uninsured persons in the United States are employed, but do not have benefits available to them through their jobs or they cannot afford the premium. It is also increasingly common that companies which used to offer benefits to employees no longer do so,due to prohibitive cost.

Another sad fact is that the government does offer some health-care assistance to citizens, but to qualify for the benefits a person has to be practically indigent. There are a lot of people who suffer on a daily basis with health conditions for which they receive no treatment because they do not have health insurance, but are not "poor enough" to receive government aid. The guidelines to qualify require that a person have almost no assets and that their income level fall below the poverty level. Even if a person were to meet these ridiculous requirements, unless they are a pregnant woman, have minor children, or have been declared disabled, they are still not eligible.

The disability issue raises yet another problem. To be declared disabled by the government, a person has to have well a well documented history of treatment of their condition. This presents another problem because many people with chronic illnesses are unable to sustain employment long enough to maintain health insurance coverage. Therefore there is either no documentation or insufficient documentation to demonstrate the need for disability benefits from the government. Therefore people in this situation are caught in a vicious cycle of trying to survive while working intermittently due to poor health.

Health care in the United States has been reduced to nothing more than big business, where compassion has all but disappeared. The portion of the Hippocratic oath that reads that the physician would keep the good of the patient as the highest priority are in many cases mere words. Universal health care does create some additional burden on the government and the taxpayers, however the loss of revenue which is created by the uninsured or under-insured is greater in the long run. How is this so?

Many patients visit emergency rooms for conditions that could often be treated by a family doctor. These patients do not have a family physician because they cannot afford to pay for visits out of their

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Health care is increasingly expensive in the United States, is it time to adopt European style "universal health care"??
We want to hear your view. Write now!