DUE ON TUESDAY 11/24/2020
Answer each question ON the template – do not create a new file. When done submit in .rtf, .doc or .docx format only. Files submitted in other formats will receive a 0 and cannot be resubmitted.
Right to Healthcare – Lab Assignment
Health insurance…everyone wants it, everyone feels they have the right to receive it, but who is going to pay for it? Currently, as of April 2019, the United States has the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) although attempts are being made to dismantle it. Some love it, some hate it, but EVERYONE has an opinion on it.
When looking at healthcare and the insurance available, instead of looking at it from what INSURANCE is the best option, we are going to look at this topic from the underlying question that impacts our decisions when it comes to providing health insurance…
Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Healthcare?
This is where the real debate over health insurance starts. On one side of the debate…as one of the richest nations, shouldn’t our people receive access to healthcare either free or at a reasonable cost? On the other side of the debate…healthcare for all is a form of socialism. Socialism restricts your ability to have free choice. As a nation that prides itself on democracy, requiring people to have healthcare goes against our fundamental belief of free choice.
Okay…those of the “talking points” but as you probably have guessed there is more to this debate than that. Before we begin this assignment, remember this…healthcare reform is difficult, REALLY difficult! You are about to find out why. Healthcare is extremely expensive and is getting more expensive each year. Paying for healthcare is expensive, but not having healthcare and having a major health event happen to you is even more expensive. Sometimes even having health insurance is not enough when a catastrophic health event happens to you or someone in your family. Who should be responsible to pay these bills? This goes back to “is healthcare a right or a privilege”.
For this assignment we are again going to be using the procon.org site. You used this site for your ethical dilemma assignment and they have a section that addresses just this question.
Part 1 – Let’s begin
Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Healthcare?
https://healthcare.procon.org/
Yes, every individual should access healthcare to enable them to sustain a healthier life, contributing to the growth of the economy.
- Go to the background section of this issue. https://healthcare.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=006590
Summarize (in your own words do NOT copy and paste) the background of this issue using information learned from these sections: healthcare spending, healthcare in a global context, historic debate on the right to healthcare, and Obamacare and the right to healthcare. (minimum 100 words)
Every individual needs to function mentally and physically without any illness or injuries to enable the economy of the country to continue growing. The ability should be considered necessary regardless of the life circumstances of citizens, whether they are wealthy, poor, young, and old. In America, public health care is more efficient and effective with the ongoing debates about the Affordable Care Act, and the Obama care that is fighting to ensure every citizen is insured to access affordable healthcare. Every person should be entitled to healthcare anytime to be able to have a healthy economy and reduce the fear of one losing their lives just because they can’t afford health insurance.
- Using the Top Pro/Con Arguments https://healthcare.procon.org/#arguments state the PRO side of this. Of the 12 PRO arguments given, summarize TWO that you feel give the most compelling support of this issue. Remember you need to state FACTS not opinions. (minimum 100 words)
Health care must be recognized as a right to both the young, old, rich, and poor regardless of their income whereby individuals should not be scared of losing their health insurance after losing their jobs or changing employment. After losing a job, one should access the free health care service without any discrimination.
Health care services are important to reduce the number of most families going bankrupt just because they can’t pay for medical bills. For instance, whereby a mother dies of cancer at the age of 53 just because insurance cover cant continues paying for her treatments. But with free healthcare, one can access all this treatment without the fear of losing anything.
- Using the Top Pro/Con Arguments https://healthcare.procon.org/#arguments state the CON side of this. Of the 12 CON arguments given, summarize TWO that you feel give the most compelling opposition of this issue. Remember you need to state FACTS not opinions. (minimum 100 words)
Right to free healthcare will mean taking and extracting from other people leading to slavery to individuals providing the services. As health service individuals in a community, these rights will mean a patient or his people have a right to grab a doctor from their premises with an escort of police by force to make them care for the patient.
This will also mean that another person has to work to provide for other individuals. Yet, it’s a commodity like food and shelter whereby every individual need to work earn it. To avoid an increase in taxations for those working to cover for those who are unwilling to provide for themselves.
- Using the Top Pro/Con Quotes https://healthcare.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001602 pick ONE quote either PRO OR CON that you feel best represents this issue. Summarize the quote IN YOUR OWN WORDS, put WHO said the quote and WHY you feel they should be considered an expert on this subject. (Hint: if you click on their name at the end of the quote it will take you to their author page. It will explain their position, reasoning for that position, “Star” ranking – what that means, and their affiliations.) (minimum 100 words)
Author Lynn Erdman CEO of (AWHONN)
Quality healthcare is a basic human right with the support of advocating for comprehensive health care services for all, especially women and infants. Uninsured individuals have a challenge of accessing health services when faced with chronic diseases leading to deaths. I believe that Erdman should be considered an expect since in her quote she has touched on the key points especially when it comes to women and infants, a lot of these women die in hospitals especially during birth deliveries just because they can’t afford to access good health services and infants die and are given birth with disorders due to negligence of bad health services. Hence I believe that basic health services will help all these problems for low-income families.
Part 2 – Pulling the information together…
- Facts supporting healthcare as a right. (minimum 2)
To avoid many families from going bankrupt to be able to access ways of paying their medical bills.
To ensure that each individual can access healthcare services to reduce the increase of deaths in women and infants who die just because they can afford good healthcare services.
To reduce discrimination in offices and people’s financial resources whereby individuals should not feel like only those with good jobs and high financial recourse are the only ones to access good health services.
- Facts opposing healthcare as a right. (minimum 2)
To avoid exploitation of other individuals who will feel like they have to work to care for those who are unwilling to work.
It will lead to higher taxation rates whereby individuals will be charged higher taxes, and this will lead to discouraging workers and productivity hence yielding less economic growth.
It will mean that the government believes in slavery, whereby it will be a demand for one to be provided with the service by using force without the law taking any action.
- Identify your opinions or biases that affect your position on this subject.
My opinions are that the governments should pass the bill for each individual to be able to access free healthcare services without any discrimination.
- State your position on the right to healthcare. (minimum 100 words)
My position is that I support the fact that humans need to have a right to healthcare to reduce the rate of people feeling discriminated in the society, despite the colour, age, and work position whereby it’s not only who can afford are the ones given the services. Furthermore, every individual according to the law has a right to life hence health does play a key role in life so if they cannot be offered appropriate health service just because they can’t afford then it means the government is also taking part in the killings of its people.
Part 3 – Almost done
Now that you have researched the topic and formulated your position, you need to look at the responsibilities of both the individual and the nation.
Individual’s responsibility: Based on your research what does an INDIVIDUAL need to do to improve the overall health of our society. You can discuss wellness/illness issues, moral hazard, individual mandates – what you feel contributes to an individual’s responsibility to being healthy. (minimum 100 words)
Each one of us should have the responsibility to ensure that we play a role in the implementation of free healthcare services. Taking part in building the economy of the country will help to improve the health services whereby as long as you have reached the age of paying taxes, each citizen should take part in the activity forgetting that it does only benefits the government but instead eases the burden for few individual been taxed a lot to cover for those who are unwilling to work. People should get jobs that can sustain themselves not only to sit back and depend on those who work to support them. Furthermore, the wealthy citizens should also support in donations to the government to ensure that affordable hospitals are constructed, and the amount allocated for supporting the minorities are used appropriately.
Nation’s/Government’s responsibility: Based on your research what needs to be done on a NATIONAL level to improve healthcare in America. This is where you are really answering the question “Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Healthcare?” What does/should the government be doing to insure the health of its people. (minimum 100 words)
From my research, I support the fact that every American should be provided with the appropriate health care service. However, it should not be stated as a right that will expose other individuals to exploitation. The government should ensure that aside from them giving an individual the healthcare. It should be the responsibility of the patient to play a role to ensure that they recover a certain amount of the bill. The government should state that patients are allocated a certain percentage while receiving treatment, then the government can get to pay for the rest. This will force each citizen to be willing to work to be covering up for that percentage to reduce the burden on those who are overtaxed just to cover for the ones who are unwilling to work.