Inequality in Health Insurance Calls for Universal Health Care

 

        According to The Department for Professional Employees, “Health insurance premiums in the U.S. are rising fast. From 2005 to 2015, average annual health insurance premiums for family coverage increased 61 percent, while worker contributions to those plans increased 83 percent in the same period.” As a result, most employees in the lower classes are suffering even though they are paying into their insurance plans. The results are not sufficient when medical bills start piling up. Even though employers supply health benefits to the employees with many positive advantages, not all citizens are provided the same quality, preventing equal care from being shared.

 Better health benefits are given to individuals with power, income, and wealth from University of Colorado Boulder 

            Health care insurance is a type of insurance that an individual pays into to get partial or total coverage of any medical expenses. There is no law that ensures all medical benefits are equal to all employees, and part-time employees are not provided benefits at all. This has been a problem since the second World War when companies started to pay employers less but replace the missing pay with medical benefits. 

Individuals protesting and holding up signs about health care rights

                              from LA Times

        Many individuals must use other sources of income to pay for their medical bills. Sources such as GoFundMe pages or community fundraisers are used to help raise money to relieve the stress from medical bills because insurance does not cover the astronomical costs. According to Time News "During the recent government shutdown, furloughed workers turned to GoFundMe to help pay for medical expenses, including CPT Amy Chandler who need help funding her battle with breast cancer and a Maryland grandfather seeking help for his diabetic granddaughter." 

        One way many other developed countries avoid this problem is the installation of universal healthcare. Regardless of their abilities to pay for the health care, every citizen is provided with help with the essentials needed for their health. This method of health care has been proved successful in almost all countries it is provided in, but still is only a theoretical idea in the United States. 

        As stated by Constitution US "The United States is the only developed country that does not provide health care to its citizens." Even though there has been government programs that pay for health insurances in many households in the country, such as Obamacare, a large percentage of the United States still is not insured under these programs. For example, a women in 2020 suffered from a heart attack, but since she only had a part time job, no health care benefits were provided. But since she had a steady income, many governmental assistance plans were not available, causing a large backup of medical bills. Many strict guidelines and restrictions prevent the lower classes from signing up because they do not meet the requirements. 

        The recent Coronavirus pandemic has increased the need for universal health care and showed how advanced other developed countries' medical practice is. According to the American Public Health Association "During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with universal health care leveraged their systems to mobilize resources and ensure testing and care for their residents." These resources were not as readily available to all United States citizens, usually the ones with medical insurance got the necessary resources first. 

        Even though medical insurance is only used during emergencies or bad situations it can lead to an overall increase in a healthy population. Since more individuals are going to be attending doctors' appointments or going to the emergency room there will be less problems. More medications and solutions to the medical problems will be figured out, causing an overall decrease in death since the people do not have to be afraid of the afterwards cost of a doctor's visit. 

        In the future, if Universal Healthcare was installed in the United States, it would allow current uninsured citizens to get the necessary treatments needed for medical issues. Even the insured citizens who do not have enough income to pay the left-over bill after medical insurance, would not have to be concerned about how they will find the money to pay. Overall, the positive benefits would outweigh the negatives because it allows everyone to be included in medical treatments. With every new idea there is some disagreement, especially in the government which is the main reason why Universal Healthcare is still being negotiated.  

        A common issue that many people will face with Universal HealthCare, is the ability to find open appointments. Since more individuals will be able to make the appointments, there will be less opening and longer waitlists. Even since the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a nurse and physician shortage, which would also increase wait times. Many people would see this as a negative impact on their own health, and not see the overall solution of more people getting healthy.   

                 From History Manic Megan: Reasons Why Insured Individuals Do Not Have Insurance

        Also, another negative impact that force many citizens against Universal Healthcare is the increase in taxes for employees. Stated by Senator Roy Blunt, Chairman “Bernie Sander’s plan includes a 2.2 percent income tax and a 6.2 percent tax on employers, which likely would be passed on to workers.” This is not an ideal for many citizens who are already middle class and struggling to pay necessary bills each day. The money that was previously spent on medical bills is still being use by paying taxes for Universal Healthcare if it was to be passed. 

            It is quite clear that Universal Healthcare will positively benefit most of the population of the United States if passed. Not only will the uninsured citizens be able to get the healthcare they deserve, so will the middle class who is struggling to pay the costs even after the unfair benefits provided by their jobs. The United States is the only developed country that still does not offer healthcare to every citizen. Health care should be a right not a privilege to citizens, because it is a basic need of survival. The inclusion of Universal Healthcare will provide many benefits to the citizens equally, no matter their social or economic status.