One Thing

If I could change one thing about the United States it would be our health care. The U.S’ health care system is ranked thirty-seven. We’re below Costa Rica and above Slovenia. With our current health care system health insurances deny those who have a pre-existing condition. Without health insurance treating your injuries is expensive. There are even a few disadvantages when a person has health insurance such as insurance companies finding a reason to deny a person’s treatment. Therefore, I would like to reform our health care because of the high expenses for treatment, difficulties with health insurance, and benefits that countries have with universal health care.

First, without insurance things from check-ups to treatments are expensive. The price for a simple check-up at a local doctor can vary from a mere thirty-five dollars to a hundred-fifty. If your conditions worsen you’ll end up at the hospital and it isn’t cheap there either. Like a check-up the price of a stay at a hospital ranges. It can be a couple of hundred dollars or it can be thousands. It all depends on whether you’re getting nursing care, medications, or tests. What I don’t like most is because of these prices people avoid going to the doctor. With a basic check-up they could get their injuries or sicknesses treated but when they don’t their conditions worsen and costing them more than they’d ever want it to be.

Second, if a person were to sign up for health insurance they’re going to have difficulties. If you have a pre-existing condition you’re most likely going to get denied. Some examples of pre-existing conditions are diabetes, arthritis, bulimia, heart attack, and Down syndrome. There are even other outrageous conditions insurance companies will deny like being too thin or too fat. There was a case where a Colorado couple wasn’t able to obtain health insurance for their two-year old daughter, Aislin Bates, because their insurer said she did not meet their standards and was too small. This girl was only twenty-two pounds and two-years old. I thought that was normal for a child that age. Besides the problems getting health insurance, those who were lucky to obtain it will also have problems. For example, in the documentary film Sicko a father’s child was only given one cochlear implant instead of two because it was “experimental” for her to hear in two ears. I don’t see how that’s experimental. It works on one ear why not give the child the other one?

Lastly, our country would receive many benefits if we have universal health care. In countries like France, England, Canada, and Japan health care treatments are free. Yes they pay higher taxes but paying for your medical bills doesn’t even compare. Universal health care would make everyone equal and available for everyone regardless of income. Equal because whether a person is rich or poor they will wait the same. I’m not saying that we’re not equal here it just seems to me that the rich could get away with a lot more things than those who are middle class or are poor. Because they have the money, doctors and nurses will treat them right away. There are other benefits like the maternity care in France where for a dollar a day you could put your child in a day care while you work. In England the price of medications will always be six pounds. Whether it’s hundred pills or five hundred the price will always remain six pounds. In conclusion, I would change our country’s health care system because of the benefits our people would get, so we would no longer have difficulties getting health insurance, and would not have to deal with the expenses.