Medical Care- a Right or a Privilege?
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Medical Care- A Right or a Privilege?
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Noting that medical care is a privilege, not a right in the United States, discuss the following points: Since quality healthcare can be a matter of life or death, should all Americans have equal access to it? If yes, why don't they? If no, why shouldn't they? Which core American values does the current health care system in the United States, treating health care as a profit-producing commodity to be sold to the highest bidder uphold? Which core American value does it violate? What can and/or should the United States do to ensure that all Americans who get sick have an equal opportunity to get well? Americans should definitely have equal access to quality healthcare. Race, color, or socioeconomic status should not affect a person's access to healthcare. Everyone should receive the same type of quality care that person with the most money or best healthcare can receive. This does not mean that anyone should be able to walk into a doctor's office and demand an MRI because they think they need one. This means the doctor should examine that patient the same way he would someone with money or health insurance. The finial result should be the person needs or does not need an MRI based on his health and not race, money, or health insurance. Regular visits to healthcare providers will create longer life and deceased cost of care in the long- run (NHDR, p10.) This is a prefect example of why everyone should have equal access to healthcare. According to the National Health Disparities Report, "poorly managed care or missed diagnoses results in expensive and avoidable complications." 3 Many people believe that people who don't have insurance or money still get healthcare coverage from the government, Medicare or Medicaid. What people don't understand that there are restrictions on who can receive these benefits as well as what the benefit covers. People who have Medicaid or Medicare are limited to what tests and
Medical Care- A Right or a Privilege?
2
Noting that medical care is a privilege, not a right in the United States, discuss the following points: Since quality healthcare can be a matter of life or death, should all Americans have equal access to it? If yes, why don't they? If no, why shouldn't they? Which core American values does the current health care system in the United States, treating health care as a profit-producing commodity to be sold to the highest bidder uphold? Which core American value does it violate? What can and/or should the United States do to ensure that all Americans who get sick have an equal opportunity to get well? Americans should definitely have equal access to quality healthcare. Race, color, or socioeconomic status should not affect a person's access to healthcare. Everyone should receive the same type of quality care that person with the most money or best healthcare can receive. This does not mean that anyone should be able to walk into a doctor's office and demand an MRI because they think they need one. This means the doctor should examine that patient the same way he would someone with money or health insurance. The finial result should be the person needs or does not need an MRI based on his health and not race, money, or health insurance. Regular visits to healthcare providers will create longer life and deceased cost of care in the long- run (NHDR, p10.) This is a prefect example of why everyone should have equal access to healthcare. According to the National Health Disparities Report, "poorly managed care or missed diagnoses results in expensive and avoidable complications." 3 Many people believe that people who don't have insurance or money still get healthcare coverage from the government, Medicare or Medicaid. What people don't understand that there are restrictions on who can receive these benefits as well as what the benefit covers. People who have Medicaid or Medicare are limited to what tests and
References: Healthcare for All-California Education Fund. (n.d.) Retrieved April 1, 2007 from: http://www.healthcareforalleducationfund.org/index.html Izen, Megan. (2006). Bush 's Proposal to Privatize Healthcare Worsens Race Disparities. RaceWire . Retrieved April 1, 2007 from: http://www.arc.org/racewire/020206m_izen.html National Healthcare Disparities Report: Summary. February 2004. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr03/nhdrsum03.htm