Argumentative Essay On Affordable Health Care

Great Essays
The right to affordable health care is as sacrosanct as the right to be free, if not more. The most important issue is making medical care a right for everyone at an affordable price. American health care has an insurance-based system; thus, to get affordable and efficient medical help, you should be insured. Currently, there are about 44 million uninsured Americans. According to Elizabeth Bradley, the author of the book The American Health Care Paradox, the paradox of today’s system is that “United States spends so much on health care but continues to lag behind in health outcomes” (33). The private sector has been focusing on making a profit over the years, ignoring the importance of health care for all. There is no ideal system and no final …show more content…
Statistically, only twenty-eight percent of Americans are insured through government-funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, implemented in the middle 1960s. Medicare commonly insures older people with acute care needs. “Medicaid is the joint federal-state government-sponsored program that pays for health services for poor children, pregnant women, and mothers of young children as well as mentally and physically disabled and very poor elderly individuals” (Emanuel 36). The most recent attempt to maintain a current medical assistance problem was a new law widely known as Obamacare. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on the 23rd of March 2010, putting in place comprehensive reforms that are meant to improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from unfair insurance company practices. One of the issues Obamacare was supposed to overcome is a Medicaid Gap by expanding Medicaid on all the poorest citizens. However, this plan was not accepted by more than 20 states, which leaves more than 3 million people uninsured. Why do different political views affect such important problem as a lack of health coverage? Even fiscally conservative Republicans should be concerned about their neighbors’

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Interestingly, by cross referencing the legislative clauses against current fiscal and population data values evidence of the core problems this initiative hoped to address can be identified. For instance, the first provision within the ACA requires all U.S citizens to have health insurance, but prior to 2010 44 million American did not maintain consistent coverage (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2016, p.1). Studies have shown that uninsured individuals are less likely to have a primary physician, therefore, relying typically on the emergency room for care (DeMichele, 2016a, p.1) . In addition, these individuals frequently do not practice preventative care, nor do they receive medical attention in a timely manner (DeMichele, 2016a, p.1) . These contributing factors have increased the likelihood of death in uninsured Americans by 40 percent, equating to as many as 45,000 deaths per year (Cecere, 2009,…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 2010 the Affordable Care Act became one of the most talked about pieces of legislation that has brought many mixed reviews. Healthcare is a necessity that each of us need to maintain our lives. While we have an excellent source of healthcare service in the United States, it’s the access to that healthcare that has been a problem for many American’s. There are countries that have already turned to government healthcare. The Affordable Care Act was designed to help each of us have the access to Health care that we have not been able to afford in the past.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    All Americans have the fundamental human right to health care regardless of any circumstances, or at least they should. Health care systems of the past and present have become a common topic of controversy. While new provisions of the Affordable Care Act continue to unveil, adversaries will have more opportunities to contest its changes. However, abolishing the Affordable Care Act would leave millions of low-income Americans without health care. The quality of life that many Americans live should be upheld by the increase of coverage through the Affordable Care Act.…

    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the late 1800s healthcare has been available in America, but there have been many disputes about the cost of healthcare and how it is so unaffordable(Palmer, 1999). In today’s society, many Americans suffer from common health problems such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer(URMC, Top 10 Most Common Health Issues). There are organizations who work together and try to make healthcare available and affordable for all of these people like, Affordable Healthcare Act or Obama Care. Healthcare is the top priority for any person and everybody should be given the opportunity to receive affordable health care. Organizations such as Obama Care can provide for millions of people, but they are still thousands of people…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Government bureaucrats and insurance companies, not doctors, are in charge of our health care. Obamacare is all about saving money and where the money is spent is being directed by special interest and profit-making…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The patient protection and Affordable care act, considerably more normally called "Obamacare", was intended to give protection to an expansive number of Americans who might some way or another be safeguarded, yet it has been full of issues since its creation. There was much imperviousness to it before all else and not the greater part of that resistance originated from the republican side of the passageway. Indeed, even a few democrats were against it. The same is fundamentally genuine whether one is discussing congress and the administration, or whether one is discussing the overall public there is resistance to the law.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The U.S. Affordable Care Act has three main factors that support the system. The reformed healthcare system can be compared to three-legged stool because it consists of three factors which include, insurance companies must sell coverage to people with pre-existing conditions as well as subsidies to help with premiums to ensure that everyone has coverage. After the affordable care act was implemented the rates of the uninsured declined, yet there are still millions without insurance with punishments to people who want to opt out of insurance. Obamacare doesn’t control the cost of medical insurance rather the cost is based on the completion among private insurance sectors. Even with this recent health care reform, the United States health…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Affordable Care Act, or nicknamed, “ObamaCare,” was signed into law in 2010 in an attempt to change the health care industry for the better. In 2012, this plan was put into action due to the Supreme Court’s involvement. The goal of the ACA is to give Americans everywhere access to affordable, easy to access health insurance. As well as cut U.S health care spending. I chose this topic because I felt the effects that this plan placed upon the country and its heath care are noteworthy and important to know.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Obamacare a noun has changed the course of our nation’s progress The ACA(Affordable Care Act) was introduced and activated to present the american people with elevated quality health insurance that they and their families could not break the bank when purchasing. Throughout this paper I will give my absolute best ability through sources that I find on the internet and outside references in books and catalogs that I will list below. I claim none of this info as my own as I have no idea what Obamacare is so I am learning this alongside my readers and you Tim. In my research for this paper I sat in the Library with a copy of, “A second Opinion, Rescuing America’s Health Care,” By ,”Arnold S. Relman, M.D,” a flash of a great Idea in 2007 that is…

    • 2495 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In any country people are going to have different opinions on how things are run. In America, since our country is one where you are free to voice your opinion, it seems that the disagreements never stop. Particularly for one thing: our nation's healthcare. Barack Obama, our forty fourth president proposed a new health care act, The Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” shortly after he became elected. An act that congress said they will read after they pass it, an act that some say was passed illegally.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First introduced in 2009, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known has Obamacare, has been one of the most, if not the most, controversial acts that President Obama has signed into law in his almost 6 years in office. After being signed into law in 2010, it quickly became contested by Republicans and Conservatives worldwide, saying it was unconstitutional. Eventually the law went to the supreme court and, in 2012, “The Supreme Court… upheld President Obama’s health care overhaul law.” However, just because the Supreme Court deemed it constitutional, doesn’t mean it’s good for our country. In fact, Obamacare will hurt many parts of the United States economy.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A topic that has been highly politicized around a lightning rod of a name is what to do about Obamacare. To illustrate this point, if we call it the Affordable Care Act, approval rates increase and if we use the name KyNect in Kentucky it increases even more. In a Kaiser Health monthly poll (see Note to Reader comment below) from November, 74% of Americans and half of Republicans want the ACA to continue. But, if you dig deeper, the Republican voters heavily favor almost all features of the ACA except those dealing with the mandates for coverage for the employer and individual.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “There are more than 45,000 deaths a year due to the lack of health care, 44 million uninsured Americans, and another 38 million Americans with inadequate health insurance” (The Uninsured). While it may not sound like many deaths for a big country like America, these are deaths directly caused because they did not have the resources in order to obtain it nor the help they need. A quarter of the population of America does not have the protection they should deserve People are forced into terrible situations because of the fear of not being able to pay medical bills or increased insurance rates. The citizens that have been doomed thanks to the health care system of the United States of America have been waiting long enough for an adaption of…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has its ups and downs just like any other health insurance company out there. Is the act really affordable? The title of the act claims that it is as you can see when saying or reading. Do we know for sure or agree on this though? Does the tittle lie to us or is it just the name it needs.…

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Healthcare Expensive Essay

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “An estimate done by the Census Bureau’s, said that thirty-three million Americans lacked health insurance in 2014 reflects a significant and welcome drop from the forty-two million it reported as uninsured in 2013,” said Dr. Robert Zarr, president of Physicians for a National Health Program, today (More Americans gain health coverage, but many can’t afford to use it: doctors group). In this time of rising health care costs, a great amount of Americans experience troubles or difficulties paying for needed health care services. With the costs that are expected to continue rising, changes happening to private insurance plans and public…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays