2008 Woodie Awards
Universal Healthcare
Make it a reality and not just a debate
Bryan Willis
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Opinion
Why in a country blessed with such bountiful resources is so little produced for those of its citizens in the worst of straits? It doesn't make sense that a system in which 51 percent of annual bankruptcies are caused by medical bills is allowed to continue.
The situation is unacceptable; universal healthcare is an absolute necessity for this nation if it is to remain strong as a people.
Insurance mandates that criminalize those who do not have the money to afford it in the first place will not suffice. Insurance package plans would be a positive step if they wouldn't leave us even more attached to this broken system.
They too will not suffice. Until any American citizen can walk into any hospital in the country and get access to the best healthcare possible, nothing less can be acceptable. Moreover, nothing else should be acceptable.
There are people who would parry these remarks by saying that competition drives our healthcare to the best quality in the world and if we eliminated the competition the quality of our system would decrease dramatically.
Let us assume for the moment that it is as simple a fact as those people make it seem. Although people are saying that we should preserve the quality of our healthcare at the lesser cost of not everyone being able to afford it, I would argue that the real price at the end of the day is our humanity.
Can we ignore the fact for a moment that nearly all of Western Europe has functioned effectively for years using various incarnations of universal healthcare? Of, course here comes the story where you've heard of your friend or friend's friend, or some distant acquaintance who lives in one of those countries and "almost died" because of these systems.
Well, if so many of these cases really exist then why are the mortality rates in countries implementing universal healthcare policies so much lower than the United States and the life expectancies so much higher? Truly we have ourselves a conundrum.
Our current situation is unacceptable. I will not acknowledge the unwillingness to pay taxes that in reality benefit everyone as an excuse to allow the denial of care to many. We think those taxes would weigh us down but in truth, how expensive are those taxes when you next go to the emergency room and leave fully treated without cost?
A universal healthcare system would guarantee emergency care for everyone who needs it; no more denial of service because you have the wrong insurance or just none at all. It would lower the cost of medicine and it would allow life-saving procedures to be accessible instead of the pipedreams they are to many.
No country knows that progress requires sacrifice and hard work better than the United States, so it falls to us to move forward now so that we can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that our children will always have the care they need.
The situation is unacceptable; universal healthcare is an absolute necessity for this nation if it is to remain strong as a people.
Insurance mandates that criminalize those who do not have the money to afford it in the first place will not suffice. Insurance package plans would be a positive step if they wouldn't leave us even more attached to this broken system.
They too will not suffice. Until any American citizen can walk into any hospital in the country and get access to the best healthcare possible, nothing less can be acceptable. Moreover, nothing else should be acceptable.
There are people who would parry these remarks by saying that competition drives our healthcare to the best quality in the world and if we eliminated the competition the quality of our system would decrease dramatically.
Let us assume for the moment that it is as simple a fact as those people make it seem. Although people are saying that we should preserve the quality of our healthcare at the lesser cost of not everyone being able to afford it, I would argue that the real price at the end of the day is our humanity.
Can we ignore the fact for a moment that nearly all of Western Europe has functioned effectively for years using various incarnations of universal healthcare? Of, course here comes the story where you've heard of your friend or friend's friend, or some distant acquaintance who lives in one of those countries and "almost died" because of these systems.
Well, if so many of these cases really exist then why are the mortality rates in countries implementing universal healthcare policies so much lower than the United States and the life expectancies so much higher? Truly we have ourselves a conundrum.
Our current situation is unacceptable. I will not acknowledge the unwillingness to pay taxes that in reality benefit everyone as an excuse to allow the denial of care to many. We think those taxes would weigh us down but in truth, how expensive are those taxes when you next go to the emergency room and leave fully treated without cost?
A universal healthcare system would guarantee emergency care for everyone who needs it; no more denial of service because you have the wrong insurance or just none at all. It would lower the cost of medicine and it would allow life-saving procedures to be accessible instead of the pipedreams they are to many.
No country knows that progress requires sacrifice and hard work better than the United States, so it falls to us to move forward now so that we can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that our children will always have the care they need.
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