As the world continues to fight the coronavirus, one huge flaw in America’s health institutions has become apparent. The rising cost of private health insurance and the climbing percentage of uninsured people reveals a failed healthcare system. Universal healthcare provides access to health services to everyone, regardless of any status or identity. The World Health Organization states that “the right to health for all people means that everyone should have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without suffering financial hardship.” A society without a system of public healthcare is unjust; all humans deserve the right to health. The pandemic has proven that the absence of universal healthcare is a massive fault in the American system.
The United States is the only major industrialized country without free universal healthcare. According to Vox, 57% of Americans think it is the government’s responsibility to provide health insurance. The right to health should not be controversial. Polarizing disagreements over this human right sets the United States apart from almost every other country. Over half of the world’s countries provide universal healthcare. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not provide healthcare for all.
This year, COVID-19 put national healthcare systems to the test. Faced with a global health crisis, each nation approached the situation differently and saw various outcomes. It is no surprise that the United States was unprepared to handle such a situation. The nation’s faulty health systems and unresponsive authorities led to a national disaster with a death toll of over two hundred thousand and counting. In the early months of the pandemic shut down, hospitals around the country were overwhelmed, ventilators were at a limited supply, and there was a national shortage of face masks. While most hospitals are no longer overwhelmed and masks have been replenished, one fundamental problem persists: the lack of universal healthcare prevents uninsured Americans from seeking medical treatment, thereby risking increased transmission of COVID-19.
Free universal healthcare is necessary. In order for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to be truly inalienable human rights, all Americans must have access to health services without risking bankruptcy. COVID-19 has made it clear that healthcare is not a privilege but a right. Bernie Sanders says it best: “All Americans are entitled to go to the doctor when they’re sick and not go bankrupt after staying in the hospital.”
Sources:
- https://medalerthelp.org/blog/healthcare-statistics/
- https://berniesanders.com/issues/medicare-for-all/
- https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/fundamental-human-right/en/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20enjoyment%20of%20the%20highest,%2C%20economic%20or%20social%20condition%E2%80%9D.&text=Everyone%20has%20the%20right%20to,treated%20with%20respect%20and%20dignity
- https://healthcareisahumanright.org/about/
- https://www.vox.com/health-care/2020/1/29/21075388/medicare-for-all-what-countries-have-universal-health-care
- https://www.internationalinsurance.com/health/countries-free-healthcare.php
- https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-267.html#:~:text=The%20uninsured%20rate%20and%20number,7.9%20percent%20or%2025.6%20million).&text=The%20percentage%20of%20people%20with,in%202017%20(92.1%20percent)
- https://healthcare.procon.org/
- https://globalresidenceindex.com/hnwi-index/health-index/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/06/health-care-human-right/592357/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/health/covid-hospitals-medicare-rates.html?searchResultPosition=1
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/Covid-obamacare-uninsured.html?auth=login-email&login=email&searchResultPosition=5
Written by Sylvia Erdely.