Universal Health Care in the U.S.: A Right not a Privilege

Universal Health Care is a right and not a privilege, say many Americans, so why don’t we have it?

There are many countries in the world with Universal Health Care: Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway,Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

I, myself have lived in European countries with universal coverage, and it made being alive so much more civilized; not having to worry about huge premiums and co-pays was a great relief, and a much-needed government policy here in the U.S.  Universal Heath Care has been in effect in these countries for decades, countries whose economies and budget revenues are smaller than the U.S.

The United States has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, but no Universal Health Care.

Take Spain, which according to the World Health Organization, has the seventh best health system in the world, and world number one in organ transplants: the state system is funded partly by social security contributions deducted from people’s wages. There are no upfront expenditures and only citizens under the age of 65 pay a proportion of prescription charges. There is no worry as to whether one will go bankrupt, lose their home, or fail to pay for their children’s education, if one becomes seriously ill.  With Universal Health Care, the government provides the much-needed safety net for citizens, whether they are employed, or not.  It is the humanization of medicine.

Most countries with universal coverage allow citizens to opt for private health plans, so there is no specific government mandate taking away a citizen’s right to choose what type of plan he can have.

While conservatives in the U.S. believe that universal coverage interferes with having a limited government, conservatives cannot close their eyes to the millions of Americans who live below the poverty level and cannot afford to pay for health care.  The rich have unlimited access to health care; whereas, it is estimated that there are between 20,000 and 45,000 deaths a year due to lack of health insurance.  This is not only unfair, it is immoral.  I hope it gets to the point where constituents vote exclusively for the lawmakers who are interested in getting this legislation passed!

Special interest groups who influence the political process should be stopped! Lobbyists spend over $1 billion to keep private insurers as the main cog for the American health system. Ultimately, this demonstrates that making money takes precedence over the health of the American people.

Consider the following: the U.S. has a lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and higher obesity rates than comparable countries like Australia, Canada, The UK, Germany, Japan and France.  All of these factors lead to the U.S. government spending more on health care as a percentage of GDP (15.7%)  than any other advanced country in the world, and has worse health outcomes.

It is time the United States voted for Universal Heath Care. What are we waiting for?

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