Nearly 50 million Americans are currently without health insurance, and many with insurance are still struggling to pay their medical bills. Everyone agrees that healthcare should be accessible to all, but the debate still rages on as to whether a universal system would be a wise or realistic solution. Is universal healthcare the remedy for what ails America?
If the word 'universal' means that everyone has access to medical care, it seems indisputable that a just society should not leave anyone unable to get the treatment they need. The argument rather is how the care is provided, and how it is paid for. The current system is broken, with 47 million people depending primarily on emergency rooms or out-of-pocket expenditure for all their care. U.S. companies are watching their medical insurance expenses climb much faster than inflation, leading to decreased competitiveness in a world market crowded with companies from countries that provide healthcare for all their workers. Looking back on the prosperity of the 1990s in America, a major contributing factor was the restraint in the growth of health care costs that resulted from the expansion of health maintenance organization care at that time. From a moral standpoint, as someone who has studied Catholic and medical ethics, I feel there is an imperative to change what we are doing now.
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