As everyone knows, Obama recently passed a healthcare bill that has caused a lot of discontent as well as happiness throughout the country. There are many opposing arguments to the bill but I believe that Obama has taken a courageous step in the right direction. With this bill, many more people will get the opportunity to live a longer and healthier life and I think that is one of the most basic necessities a person can have.
The point of a healthcare system is to help people stay healthy and avoid pain or illness. Currently, there are many people who cannot afford to see doctors or pay for medications or necessary procedures and, as a result, are suffering from chronic as well as fatal conditions. I do not think that people who want cosmetic surgeries (unless it affects their overall health) should be covered because that has never been the point of healthcare. But other than that, there are still many people cannot function to their best potential without care. In fact, providing everyone with healthcare could strengthen the economy and the country as a whole because people would be in better shape to work and help society.
In America, we place priority on things such as profits and losses rather than the amount of people we can help and lives we can save, and that is one of the biggest faults in our current system. With universal health coverage, all citizens would be granted equal access to healthcare, which would save many lives that are currently being lost because of an inability to pay for medications and procedures. Without healthcare, many people lose the ability to live their lives the way they want and it detracts from their chance to try to live the American Dream.
Another thing that I think our society needs to work on is how we handle the unfamiliar things in life. Americans tend to be very afraid of change and while keeping everything the same is comforting, progress cannot be made without some kind of change, and sometimes that change needs to be dramatic. While America has some of the best medical technology and physicians, we have not been able keep the same level of quality or access to healthcare as many countries around the world. Countries with universal coverage (such as Denmark or France) have lower infant mortality rates and higher life expectancies when compared to America. This shows that we have not even been able to achieve the true goal of a healthcare system, which is to prevent, treat, and cure disease. And although many people are afraid of changing the way we run our system, providing universal coverage may be one of our best options to help our country move forward.
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I enjoyed your commentary on the healthcare bill and how it relates to the American Dream. If our nation were to continue to put money ahead of its citizens' rights to a healthy and happy life, there would be a problem. No one person deserves health care more than another person, so regardless of income, sex, race, or any other factor, everyone deserves good treatment when ill. I also agree that when one is not ill (cosmetic surgery), the government should not help to foot the bill. But no one should be kicked to the curb simply because they don't have money for necessary healthcare, everyone is entitled. In the end, this bill may take money out of the pockets of the wealthy, but they can deal with it. For people to complain that they may lose money for others to gain life is preposterous and against the ideals of our nation. Americans need to get used to the ideal of sacrifice and equality of all if our nation is to continue to be prosperous. With a healthier nation moving forward, like you said, America will be able to work harder to tackle other obstacles currently in our way.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point on the health care bill. It’s a big step into a more civilized and humane world. With countries like England, France, Denmark, Cuba, etc. giving the example on how successful universal health care is, it gives no excuse for opposition but greed.
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