HEALTH CARE

What should the United States do about Health Care?

What should the United States do about Health Care?

The United States health care system should be reformed because the government has an obligation to provide adequate health care to its citizens. Health care is recognized as a natural right by the international community. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that everyone has the right to adequate medical care (“Human Rights, Homelessness, and Health Care” 1). Considering the government has an obligation to provide basic rights for its citizens, and health care is considered a right, then clearly the United States government has an obligation to provide adequate health care for all of its citizens. The burning question is whether or not the United States health care system is considered adequate by international standards. The Center for Economic and Social Rights reported in 2004 that the “U.S. health care system falls short of international standards for the right to health” (“The Right to Health in the United States of America: What Does it Mean?” 1). Since the United States health care system doesn't adequately provide for the human rights of its citizens, a change clearly needs to be made for the sake of civil liberties. Ignoring the current crisis in American health care would be unjust and unconstitutional for the citizens of the United States. Because America has a duty to provide for the rights of its citizens, the current health care system must be improved.

The United States health care system should be enhanced because at its current state, the citizens of America are suffering. The current health care system causes widespread financial hardship. A recent Harvard study found that “illnesses and medical bills caused half of the 1,458,000 personal bankruptcies in 2001” (“Medical Bills Leading Cause of Bankruptcy, Harvard Study Finds” 1). If health care was provided to these people, then financial suffering could have been prevented. These monetary problems prevent people from receiving essential treatment for illnesses. ABC News reports that “nearly three in 10 Americans] have put off [medical] treatment because of the cost, often despite a serious illness” (Langer and Sussman, 2006: 1). There is clearly a problem with the current health care system when people suffer from diseases simply because of their financial status. The welfare of people should not be determined by monetary value. However, the suffering does not stop at the wallet. The United States Census Bureau reports that “in 2004, 45.8 million people were without health insurance coverage” and that “children in poverty were most likely to be uninsured than all children” (Proctor and Lee and DeNavas-Walt, 16). There are forty-five million people in America who cannot receive health care due to the current system. There are also many impoverished children without medical coverage. It is an injustice to the American people when the government refuses medical treatment to anyone. The only morally true decision that the United States government can make for its people is to reform the health care ...