HC 4
Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare
1. Should every American have health insurance coverage?
Healthcare happens to be rather expensive in the U.S. As a matter of fact, as Branning and Vater (2016) point out, our countrys healthcare happens to be one of the most expensive in the world. In the words of the authors, Americans spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare (almost $10,000 per person on average) in 2015, accounting for 17.8% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) (Branning and Vater, 2016, p. 445). For this reason, there is need to find a way of cushioning Americans from the high cost of healthcare. Health insurance coverage could come in handy in this regard. This is more so the case given that thanks to health insurance coverage, Americans would have a way of covering the various costs associated with health checkups, hospitalization, treatment, etc.
2. How should it be paid for?
I am in favor of a single-payer model funded by taxes, in which case the single-payer happens to be the It therefore follows that patients (or in this case tax-paying citizens) should not be forced into any cost-sharing or out-of-pocket fee arrangement. In my opinion, a tax-funded approach would be ideal as access to care would be similar and guaranteed across the board. It would, however, be prudent to note that to ensure that a model of this nature...
…As the authors further indicate, US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that medical bills were by far the most common cause of unpaid bills sent to collection agencies in 2014, accounting for more than half of all such debts (Himmelstein, Lawless, Thorne, Foohey, Woolhander, 2019, p. 431).5. Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to ensure all Americans have health insurance coverage?
I am of the opinion that health happens to be a key human right. Towards this end, I am convinced that all citizens of this great nation ought to have access to quality and reliable healthcare services. Thus, I would be willing to pay higher taxes to ensure that all persons have access to universal coverage under an ideal…
References
Branning, G. & Vater, M. (2016). Healthcare Spending: Plenty of Blame to Go Around. Am Health Drug Benefits, 9(8), 445-447. PMID: 28465772
Himmelstein, D.U., Lawless, R.M., Thorne, D., Foohey, P. & Woolhander, S. (2019). Medical Bankruptcy: Still Common despite the Affordable Care Act. AM J Public Health, 109(3), 431-433. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304901
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