It’s in vogue to give a sh*t. Medical expenses are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. We’re also the only first-world country without universal healthcare, yet we have the most expensive healthcare system globally.
It shouldn’t be controversial to believe that a person’s class shouldn’t dictate whether they live or die. The idea that status is a reliable indicator of worth is problematic.
Regardless of ideologies that could prevent healthcare disparities, let’s first ask ourselves: do we genuinely believe that individuals stricken with fatal cancer, dying children, or loved ones disabled by accidents or genetic predispositions deserve bankruptcy or death due to socioeconomic status? If our foundation is the belief that everyone deserves access to life, then we can agree that the current healthcare system is not working.
A 2019 study found that an estimated 67% of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues, and 72% of all medical debt in the US came from one-time medical issues. Additionally, millions of Americans are deterred from seeking medical attention due to the fear of high costs, leading to increased expenses for the country as a whole.
The tired rhetoric that healthcare access is just a matter of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, and that advocates for universal healthcare only want “free healthcare,” doesn’t make sense when you think about it.
First, universal healthcare isn’t “free”; it’s a nation prioritizing taxpayer dollars to ensure healthcare for all.
Second, the US healthcare system is based on privatized and employee-based insurance, which incorporates meritocracy, the principle that employment implies the right to healthcare. This employee-based system garnishes employees’ checks to cover company healthcare. Because the system is privatized, healthcare coverage is contingent on employment. Thus, if you fall ill or become disabled, get divorced, or if a family member who holds the family’s insurance coverage becomes sick, dies, or is laid off, you and your family lose access to healthcare. In contrast, a universal healthcare system ensures individuals have access to #healthcare at any stage of their lives.
In addition, with healthcare based on employment, the elephant in the room remains unaddressed: Al's impending huge stake in national and global jobs. What will we do in a country where healthcare relies entirely on job access?
Furthermore this notion also overlooks the fact that universal health care involves prioritizing the health of the general population. Like education, this investment yields significant returns in terms of improved health outcomes and increased ability to contribute to society.
I'm not suggesting that universal healthcare is without problems, but we need to acknowledge the issues with the current system, particularly the most significant systemic flaw: the lack of a unified group of politicians, collaborating with a single vision in mind: make it work for the people. It’s impossible to determine whether a system is effective until it’s given a chance to prove itself. Instead, politics is a competitive team sport, where two sides bought by the same buyers vie for control and reelection, rather than making systems work. Adding money in this systemic brew further complicates the issue, preventing a system from truly working for the people. A case in point is the long-standing push to privatize healthcare, with many unaware that private entities already significantly influence and even write our healthcare policies, including ACA, and Medicare Advantage that will be known as the “biggest transfer of wealth” from taxpayers to corporate shareholders, due to lack of regulation over the program and the “revolving door between private industry and government.” ACA is better than nothing, but it was still written by private insurance to protect private insurance.
When unexpected illness or disability strikes, exorbitant medical bills can be devastating, even for the most financially responsible individuals. For instance, my father faced a $1 million bill for a double lung transplant, which made him acutely aware that without his veterans' healthcare, he would have died.
All humans age and have the potential to become sick or disabled regardless of their financial status. Illness and disability do not discriminate; they are a natural part of life that is beyond our control and has a profound, life-altering impact. Compounding this with the lack of access to healthcare makes the situation hopeless.