Have you ever been sick with a basic cold? You know, the one where your nose is runny, pounding headache, absolutely terrible body aches, and a nothing but rising fever of 100.8 to 103.4. You panic watching the thermometer rise and your symptoms getting worse so you do the reasonable thing and go to the hospital. After waiting for hours just to hear from the clearly very tired overworked nurse that you need rest and to take Tylenol. Weeks later after recovering you get the bill of a whopping $2000 and you don’t have that kind of money just laying around so, what’s your next move? Universal health care for everyone should be the answer to that question where everyone should receive the medical attention that they need.
The first reason why universal health care should be generalized nationwide is simply because of the cost alone.
According to the Commonwealth Fund’s health survey, reported in 2023, the United States among “high-income countries” has “the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates.” (The Editors of Procon).
Our country is among one of the richest in the world money wise and yet we still have some of the highest death rates for issues that could’ve been treated? Why is it that we have so much money for causes but we can’t rely on them to be there when my son falls off his bike and breaks his arm? That’s a baggage I’m forced to carry with me all the way through retirement. In other words, it couldn’t have been better said by rapper Tupac Shakur in one of his most famous songs ‘Keep Ya Head Up’, “They got money for wars but can’t feed the poor”.
Going on, people love to say “we have our human rights,” where do we draw the line at that? Universal Health should be given to all because at the end of the day we’re all people just trying to survive in this world. As stated by the Universal Health Coverage Evolution,
“The General Assembly resolutions of WHO to adopt UHC over the years have consistently advocated how human rights—particularly the right to health—provide the overarching framework for UHC,” (Universal Health Coverage Evolution).
If we’ve worked so hard to fight for our basic human rights: why doesn’t that include our well being and overall health? This argument, said above, is being said by the World Health Organization in case you didn’t know what that stood for. They are a part of the United Nations Agency who specialize in promoting health in general and helping the weak and vulnerable.
Known as, “the city that never sleeps,” infamous New York City as you can already assume is one of the richest cities in the United States. Does it not seem preposterous that citizens are scared to get help? In Paying more, Getting less they go into detail saying,
“Even insured New Yorkers increasingly delay or forgo care due to cost and fear of medical debt,
leading to worse health outcomes and higher long-term system costs,” (Paying more, Getting Less).
Don’t you think it’s sad and absolutely ridiculous that people are living in fear of debt? You mean to tell me that in this state of the world economically, people would rather die than go receive medical attention?
Now remember that cold you had? The one where it felt like you were practically dying just for them to say you’ll be fine and left you with $2000 in medical debt. Ahh see I knew you’d remember! Now, how would you feel if I told you this problem could’ve never happened? No debt, no stress, no missed vacations, no skipped meals, you get the point. Generalizing universal healthcare is the answer that people are refusing to accept. Don’t be those people but be the ones that are living stress free, medically debt free, and overall free.
Works Cited
Web sites, e-sources
The Editors of ProCon. “Universal Health Care | Pros, Cons, Debate, Arguments, Medicare, Medicaid, & Insurance.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Nov. 2024, www.britannica.com/procon/universal-health-care-debate.
“Paying More, Getting Less: Rising Health Care Costs, Poor Outcomes, and Harmful Federal Policy Decisions Are Putting New Yorkers at Risk.” Office of the New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, 2021, comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/paying-more-getting-less-rising-health-care-costs-poor-outcomes-and-harmful-federal-policy-decisions-are-putting-new-yorkers-at-risk/.
Universal Health Coverage Evolution, Ongoing Trend, and Future Challenge: A Conceptual and Historical Policy Review.” Frontiers in Public Health, vol. 11, 2023, pp. 1–11, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9940661/, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1041459.
