The Benefits of Healthcare, Direct and Indirect

Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee universal health care for its citizens.

Intro:
It is in the power and interest of our government to guarantee healthcare to all of its citizens. Without proper care, the quality of life of US citizens declines and they are unable to function properly, which in turn hurts the economy. Many employers are forced to provide healthcare to their employees, which is detriment to their economic contribution. Many citizens who are in need of healthcare are unable to afford it or do not have employers that provide it. Providing universal healthcare to all of our citizens is an economic and human necessity.

Value:
Quality of Life: In order to ensure the quality of life of all of its citizens, the United States must make sufficient healthcare available to all people. The quality of life of our citizens reflects the standards of our country and greatly affects our economy. A country that leaves people medically unattended can hardly be considered developed. Our citizens deserve to be cared for, and the government has every right and reason to do it. When people draft ailing illnesses and are unable to work, the economy suffers. When some of these people are ignored by medical care because they do not have insurance or are not provided with it, the economy suffers even more so. How can the United States expect itself to compete economically with countries like China and Japan when they cannot even take care of their citizens? The fate of the United States rests in the hands of its working citizens, the quality of life of these people is a prominent factor in securing a bright future for the country. Guaranteeing universal healthcare to all US citizens provides them with readily available medical care, without them having to directly pay for it. This assures citizens sufficient care for their health needs and preserves quality of life. Therefore, Universal Healthcare is an economic necessity.

Criterion:
Responsibility: A government should be responsible for its citizens. This includes providing safety, justice, and health, equally, to all people. A government creates the foundation from which citizens build a nation, and support an economy which allows the government to expand. This expansion of government includes its power, but also its responsibility. The United States government has expanded greatly, and is today one of the largest and most competitive nations in the world. A government this powerful must take care of its citizens, or else devastating consequences arise. This care includes providing safety, which it does, and justice, which it provides to all people as well. However, the US currently does not provide health equally to all of its citizens. This means that the United States is ignoring their responsibility for the quality of life of its people. It is in the constitutionally derived power of the United States federal government to create a system that provides health ASSURANCE to all of its people. Health assurance is the provision of health care for citizens, which the US government can assure will always be available and sufficient for all of its people. Therefore, it is the United States’ responsibility to guarantee Universal Healthcare to its citizens.

Contention The First: The current plan for healthcare in the United States is insufficient and does not equally provide health insurance to all of its people.

Although a plan for healthcare is currently in place, many people are excluded from it, and still find themselves lacking sufficient health care. These people include veterans, employees, and other groups that continue to live, or should I say, try to live, without health care. According to the Kaiser Foundation Health News, 10% of veterans lack health insurance, and over half of these people could qualify for Healthcare under the health law expansion. Additionally, they are unable to insure their