Writing project No.3 was challenging and time intense. I did not put the right amount of extensive research on this paper as I should of. The topic chosen for this draft had an enormous complex mix of information. I wish I could of found a subject less complicated. I felt I did a good job with my biliographies in finding the data needed to complete the paper.
If I would write this paper over, I would improve my argument better. I would also try targetting my audience to whom I wanted to get me points across. I went a little off focus when talking to them in some areas. The peer and instructor suggestions were of great help. I used most of the ideas given in revising my work on finding data to argue my point and to seek who I was my main audience.
Noe Perez
Eng 102/3952
Professor Rodrigo
July 28, 2007
Universal Health Care
Health insurance seems to be a topic often talked about whenever presidential elections come around. They put insurance coverage in the forefront of every debate. I like when some candidates say how they would try to have universal health care when elected to office. You know as well as I do they are only saying it to get into the White House. So why doesn’t the United States of America have universal health care for everyone is something we need to examined as hardworking citizens and tax payers. Congress needs to pass a law which gives every person in the United States health insurance no matter what race, age, or financial bracket they are in. I used to be one of many hard working individuals who could not afford health insurance for my family. I think this country should have universal health care because families can’t pay the high cost of premiums with a minimum wage salary and also some employers don’t cover their employees. I see families who are homeless with children and I wonder if they have insurance in case of an emergency. Would they be given the same care of one who has insurance? I feel we need to have coverage for every American individual for those particular situations.
One reason we should have universal health coverage is cost. As insurance premiums continue to rise, families are being forced to pay out of pocket for medical care, which can be a financial burden. Many find themselves using credit cards to pay for needed surgeries or outpatient care. That leads to high monthly credit bills that take years to pay off. I became a victim of using a credit card to pay for medical services. I had a contract job which did not have any sort of medical benefits nor dental. I visited the emergency room one day and before they could see me I needed to show some proof of insurance. I did not have any, so I had to make a pre-payment with my credit card. I am thankful to say, I have paid that bill off. I have another experience with the dentist, but I will spare you the details. I have heard from co-workers who have no insurance how they faced similar situations as I did. Many of them don’t take their children or themselves to see a doctor for preventive care. They don’t seek medical care unless it is an emergency because it can be too expensive to afford.
Cost is also an issue for critics who are against universal healthcare because they say it will cost the government too much money. There are Republicans who say “that in belt-tightening times — and when so much money is being diverted to fight terrorism — benefits should go to those who need them most. They point out that Medicare beneficiaries who can afford it already pay for supplemental coverage, some of which covers prescriptions. Providing free drugs for all seniors could “bankrupt the program,” hurting all Medicare beneficiaries, according to a GOP “Talking Points” memo prepared for House members (CQ 2002). Critics are also saying covering everyone in America is impossible. Some questions which they say need to be answered are:” how much will it cost? Who will pay? Should it be public or private insurance? Should employers or workers be subsidized? Should subsidies be provided through tax credits or vouchers?” Politicians should be able to come to an agreement on how the government can pay for such an important issue of health insurance. While these are obviously important policy questions, the emphasis on costs remain the big issue. But not paying for individuals health plans will be a major cost. If we don’t pay for preventive care now it will cost government more because they will have to pay the hospitals and doctors for treating those who have become seriously ill due to a lack of regular care.
Polls have studied how people feel the government can pay for these services.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll in April 2005, the following options were chosen by Americans as the single best method of increasing healthcare coverage in the United States:
· Tax credits for businesses
· Expand state government programs like Medicaid
· Tax credits for uninsured individuals
· Expand Medicare to people ages 55-64
· Require businesses to offer employees insurance
· A national health plan, financed by taxpayers (Chua, K.P., Fellow, J. R. 2005-2006)
As you can see, there are ways of funding health insurance for all citizens in the United States.
The United States can not continue to let children go without health insurance. Children need to have insurance so doctors can perform preventive care so that later in life they are not forced to have any major surgery or serious ailments. Children should have the right to seek medical attention without being turned away because parents can’t show proof of insurance or don’t have credit cards to pay for services. One example of why children need coverage is the case of Dalton Dawes, from North Carolina.
Dalton Dawes and a classmate bumped into each other while playing on the swing set. Dalton Dawes parents' worst nightmare began that day. Dalton is a hemophiliac, and he began to bleed internally. Dalton had been receiving twice-weekly injections of a blood-clotting agent almost since birth. Now he would need them more often. The drug would do more than simply allow him to live a normal child's life, playing soccer and roaming the nearby woods. It would keep him from bleeding to death. Yet the family's health insurer would not provide coverage. Nor could his parents, despite their good jobs, afford the $2,000 weekly expense — for years to come. So Leonard Poe, a lawyer, and Heather Dawes, a paralegal, impoverished themselves. They sold off land and built a home from logs. They dispensed with the dishwasher and TV. By reducing their earnings to less than $23,000 a year, they qualified for Medicaid, the government health-insurance program for the poor. After Dalton's seventh birthday, his parents had to cut their income even further — to $15,492 — in order to remain eligible for Medicaid. Instead, they tried to enroll him in the Children's Health Insurance Initiative (CHIP). There many cases like this one where families are driven away from medical help and are force to make changes in their life style because the government makes it hard for someone to qualify for medical attention”. (CQ Researcher 2002)
These parents, despite their good jobs, still can’t afford the treatment for their son. Because jobs don’t offer insurance to working families we are faced with poverty to qualify for healthcare.
In conclusion, I feel that America should have universal coverage because our family’s health and social needs depend on government help. We can not become another third world country where we are not able to help our own people from dying because of the lack of preventive medical assistance. The skyrocketing of insurance premiums and the low pay of minimum wage jobs with no employer benefits makes it stressful for working class citizens able to afford coverage for their loved ones. I suggest to all readers to go out and see “"Sicko," by the filmmaker, Michael Moore, which is a documentary on universal health care.
Works Cited:
Epstein, K. (2002). Covering the uninsured. CQ Researcher, 12, 521-544. Retrieved July 29. 2007. from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2002061400.
Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance(2004). Retrieved July 29, 2007. from http://www.iom.edu/?id=17632&redirect=0
Clemmitt , M. (2007). Universal coverage. CQ Researcher, 17, 265-288. Retrieved July 29. 2007. from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre200703300
Chua, K.P., Fellow, J. R.(2005-2006). Strategies to Increase Healthcare Access Retrieved July 30. 2007. from http://www.amsa.org/uhc/2005HealthcareAccess.pdf
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