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Why we need health care reform

The two main reasons why health care reform is necessary are moral values and economic stability. According to the US census bureau 46 million US citizens did not have health insurance in 2007. There are many compelling statistics that justify the need for change on a system proven to be inefficient. If government does not reform the health care system, costs will continue to rise, less people will be covered, and a greater economic burden will be left for future generations.

Today, the health care system is primarily run by pharmaceutical companies, private health insurance companies, and Wall Street. Allowing a health care system to be run only by private institutions for capital gains and business interests does not guarantee the health needs of all. The United States has been prosperous in many areas in its effort to be a fair democracy with progressive ideals but, it has failed to give millions of its citizens an access to health care. Access to health care should be considered a core democratic right just like freedom of speech and the right to vote. Surprisingly, the moral and ethical issue of this problem has not been used by Democrats and the Obama Administration as leverage to push forward their health care reform program.

Another reason to consider health care reform is economic stability. The economic repercussions that can come from an inefficient health care system cannot be ignored. The United States spends more money than any other industrialized nation ($2.5 trillion a year), but ranks 29th in infant mortality and 45th in life expectancy. In 2005 the US spent nearly $6700 per capita (nearly twice as much as most other developed countries) and fails to cover a large amount of its citizens. A country like France with just 12% of its GDP manages to have universal health care, while the United States with 20% of its GDP cannot manage to do so. The cost that the United States pays for the 46 million uninsured is approximately $123 billion annually (in acute emergency care) and will tend to increase if the system remains the same.

Health care reform is not a new topic to American politics. The topic began with President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, when he proposed that government should control health care costs and provide health care for all. In 1948 President Harry S. Truman also tried to achieve universal health care but failed to do so. Truman’s efforts received strong opposition from Republican contemporaries including head of the Republican Party Dwight Eisenhower. The similar pattern in politics remains today, Republicans stubbornly oppose health care reform and its legislative progress has been crippled.

We can learn from our recent history that government programs can be successful in alleviating health needs for those without health coverage. The largest expansion of health insurance to people uninsured occurred during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration with the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. The programs started in 1965 and by 1970, 30 million people were enrolled. In the memorable inauguration of the Medicare and Medicaid programs President Lyndon B. Johnson gave the first Medicaid card to former President Harry S. Truman. The expansion of these government programs did not deteriorate the American health care system and did not socialize medicine. Health care reform is a fundamental need to our society and, if it can be accomplish in the near future, it will surely bring more progress to our democracy, a better quality of life, and a safer generation.

 

Statistics used available at:

http://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/index.html.

 

Reference: National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2007. With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. Yattsvill, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2007