Justice for America: Universal Health Coverage
Tee Stephens
ENG 122: English Composition II
Professor Carmen Brown
February 12, 2012

Universal health care is a plan that presents organized health coverage to all the people of a governed province and it is predominantly funded by raising taxes. Basic health care entails treatment for chronic care, reconstructive procedures, preventative care and regular routine checkups. The U.S. has a publicly funded government health care system for the disabled, underprivileged, senior citizens, veterans, and military service. Our government already conserves loads of cash on treatments and health protection costs for Medicare, the department of Veteran Affairs, and other administrative organizations, due to the high number of people enrolled in these programs. All physicians would be in a universal health care network. Universal health care permits the government to collaborate with pharmacies or drug companies, doctors, and hospitals for reasonable prices. Unfortunately, these programs barely cover one quarter of the U.S. population. The United States is the wealthiest and most technologically advanced country that does not have universal health care, which would create equal justice for all Americans.

The number of uninsured Americans continues to rise. In an article called “A universal healthcare system: is it right for the United States?” it states, “The number of uninsured Americans remains grave and continues to grow. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2004), between 2000 and 2003, the number of Americans without health insurance rose by 1.4 million to 45 million” (Rashford, 2007, pg. 5). This means a significant amount of many people are not receiving sufficient medical attention or treatment desperately needed for medical issues. Since 2004, nearly 11% of adolescents have been uninsured. Many children that come from low-income families cannot afford to pay high premiums for medical coverage. The government educates children in public schools because of taxpayers; a universal health plan would allow children to have medical coverage in the same way. Some families go without food, have had a utility disconnected, could not afford to fill their medications, or go without further needed medical attention. In addition, many of the people who are uninsured are delayed medical treatment until it is necessary for them to see a doctor. By this time, most of these patients are so far into their illness that they need urgent care, which subsequently costs more money. With a universal health care plan, Americans are eligible to receive treatment from whatever doctor they choose to see. People will not have to find a physician that accepts their type of private health insurance. The places that are established to help the uninsured low-income families are forced to reduce available services or be forced to shut down because of taking so many losses. Others that are uninsured are hardworking people who are unable to obtain health insurance through their employers, because either the employer does not offer medical insurance or the premiums are too high-priced. Some of these hardworking people only work part time and do not have the option to have benefits and some have not been at the place of employment long enough to enroll in a health plan. These people may find the costs of treatments and medications so high, that they will skip doses to make sure their prescriptions last longer. These people may have to resort to going to the emergency room when they cannot bare the pain and suffering of being ill anymore and cannot afford to go anywhere else. Universal health care will give people who are employed the chance to seek better employment because they do not have to think about what type of health insurance is provided by the place of employment they are trying to apply to. Access to healthcare will no longer be dependent on a person’s inability to pay for private health insurance.