I stand by our Declaration of Independence in that the first of our "certain unalienable rights" is "life." This, at its most basic level, means that we should be allowed to sustain that life no matter our racial, ethnic, religious, or financial situation. We should not be denied access to healthcare because we were not fortunate enough to be born into wealth. Parents should not have to worry about how much an emergency trip to the hospital with their children is going to cost them. They should not need to make the choice between life-giving medication and food and shelter for their families. The miraculous marvels that can improve and prolong lives should not be kept only for the new noble class of the wealthy.
As a public school teacher, I have too often seen my students go without glasses, dental care, and even visits to the doctor because their parents cannot afford it. Even with my "Cadillac" health insurance, I have often avoided my own medical issues, and had to depend on the generosity of family to help pay for some of the medical costs for my family.
I'm not talking about making certain that all people are insured, as current governmental plans claim to do, but that all people have access to healthcare, period. One of the major complaints of such an idea is the cost, but our medical costs are already the highest in the world; meanwhile we have some of the lowest care in industrialized nations (Don't believe me? Google "us healthcare compared to other countries" for yourself). By relying on insurance companies, all we have done is added another "middle man" with profit margins of its own.
Another concern is that fewer people will enter the medical field if such a system were in place. This is again disproven by the facts. The doctor to patient ratio is lower in the U.S. than most industrialized nations with universal healthcare, and the gap is growing. Why? Malpractice insurance and fewer governmental incentives to help such people get the education required are eating most of the pay that our system provides.
The people who have fed us the lies that universal healthcare would be bad for us are those who have profited from our current system (think Martin Shkreli but on a larger scale). Don't believe them. Don't even take my word for it. Look at the numbers yourself.
We need to stop denying ourselves our own rights.
As a public school teacher, I have too often seen my students go without glasses, dental care, and even visits to the doctor because their parents cannot afford it. Even with my "Cadillac" health insurance, I have often avoided my own medical issues, and had to depend on the generosity of family to help pay for some of the medical costs for my family.
I'm not talking about making certain that all people are insured, as current governmental plans claim to do, but that all people have access to healthcare, period. One of the major complaints of such an idea is the cost, but our medical costs are already the highest in the world; meanwhile we have some of the lowest care in industrialized nations (Don't believe me? Google "us healthcare compared to other countries" for yourself). By relying on insurance companies, all we have done is added another "middle man" with profit margins of its own.
Another concern is that fewer people will enter the medical field if such a system were in place. This is again disproven by the facts. The doctor to patient ratio is lower in the U.S. than most industrialized nations with universal healthcare, and the gap is growing. Why? Malpractice insurance and fewer governmental incentives to help such people get the education required are eating most of the pay that our system provides.
The people who have fed us the lies that universal healthcare would be bad for us are those who have profited from our current system (think Martin Shkreli but on a larger scale). Don't believe them. Don't even take my word for it. Look at the numbers yourself.
We need to stop denying ourselves our own rights.
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