Universal healthcare is something that many people in the United States oppose. These individuals feel that they should not have to pay for other people to see a doctor. But these people probably don’t realize a few things.
Prevent Unnecessary Bankruptcies –
Barack Obama has stated repeatedly that rising healthcare costs are causing more and more Americans to go bankrupt. These people may simply be too poor to afford adequate healthcare, they may have inadequate healthcare for a major crisis, or they may have simply lost their healthcare when they lost their job.
Or their employer may have altered the healthcare policy at an inopportune moment. Perhaps an individual on that healthcare plan is currently in the hospital recovering from major surgery; however, if their healthcare plan at work changes from one hundred percent to eighty percent then they could potentially owe a lot of money to the hospital. Especially, if they stay in the hospital for an extended period of time. And many of these individuals will not have the funds to cover what their insurance premiums do not; thus, they will go bankrupt.
You Already Pay for it –
Those of you who don’t want to pay for a universal healthcare plan may not realize that you already pay for people who can’t afford to go to the hospital. These individuals may avoid going to the hospital or their doctor for as long as possible because they can’t afford it, but then, something major goes wrong. And unfortunately, they have no other recourse but to go to a hospital’s emergency room. The emergency room is required to give medical treatment to anyone who is injured; it doesn’t matter if they can’t afford it. And since they can not pay the bill, you do.
It May be Cheaper –
Studies indicate that universal healthcare would be cheaper, than our current “privatized” system. In fact, out of twenty-nine countries, the United States is doing the worst when it comes to the cost of healthcare. One of the reasons why the United States system doesn’t work is because people don’t see their doctor like they should. This causes minor problems to transform into larger problems, which leads to more expensive treatments.
For example, suppose Bob refuses to visit a hospital because of the expense. Bob has had trouble swallowing lately, but decides he can not afford to visit his doctor. A year later Bob is taken to the emergency room, and he is told that he has throat cancer.
Two weeks later, after his treatment fails, Bob dies in the hospital. If Bob had gone to the doctor a year earlier, then they could have caught the cancer in time to prevent Bob’s needless death. Since Bob didn’t have enough money to visit the doctor, he now owes the hospital a lot more than he would have had he just gone in a year ago. And now that Bob is dead, you now have to pay for his hospital care. And quite possibly, his funeral.
Universal healthcare has its opponents; however, people who are opposed to it probably don’t really think it through. If they had, these individuals would realize that, in the end, they still end up paying for it. Everyone does.