Universal Healthcare Argument
Joseph Mittermeier
PHI103C
Scenario 6
Universal Healthcare
Universal healthcare in my opinion is the most important discussion we’ve had in this class up to this point. I say this because it is a current affair that will reshape and redefine our country socially and economically. While the idea of universal healthcare looks phenomenal on paper there has been no data to prove that this proposed system will work efficiently anywhere but on paper. I am against the idea of universal or government run healthcare and I will cite reasons why I feel like this reform will ultimately fail us. That being said I feel like I should also say that I am not against the notion of helping the needy I just feel like we haven’t had any reform proposed that I agree with. If such a reform were proposed I would argue to help the needy, but until we have a viable, transparent plan we will sacrifice our domestic care and the care the global community has come to expect from America.
First, we must look at the success the proposed system has had in other countries. The best way for us to gauge potential successes and failures is to look at the plan where it has been applied and practiced. According to frqasureinstitute.org “Specialist physicians surveyed across 12 specialties and 10 Canadian provinces report a total waiting time of 19.0 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and receipt of elective treatment. At 104 percent longer than it was in 1993, this is the longest total wait time recorded since the Fraser Institute began measuring wait times in Canada (Barua, Rovere & Skinner, 2011)”.
The above is a common theme found in the countries that are utilizing universal healthcare. Physicians should reserve the right to triage and treat us based off of their clinical findings in regards to our own individual disease processes. The use of a government run system will undoubtedly push
PHI103C
Scenario 6
Universal Healthcare
Universal healthcare in my opinion is the most important discussion we’ve had in this class up to this point. I say this because it is a current affair that will reshape and redefine our country socially and economically. While the idea of universal healthcare looks phenomenal on paper there has been no data to prove that this proposed system will work efficiently anywhere but on paper. I am against the idea of universal or government run healthcare and I will cite reasons why I feel like this reform will ultimately fail us. That being said I feel like I should also say that I am not against the notion of helping the needy I just feel like we haven’t had any reform proposed that I agree with. If such a reform were proposed I would argue to help the needy, but until we have a viable, transparent plan we will sacrifice our domestic care and the care the global community has come to expect from America.
First, we must look at the success the proposed system has had in other countries. The best way for us to gauge potential successes and failures is to look at the plan where it has been applied and practiced. According to frqasureinstitute.org “Specialist physicians surveyed across 12 specialties and 10 Canadian provinces report a total waiting time of 19.0 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and receipt of elective treatment. At 104 percent longer than it was in 1993, this is the longest total wait time recorded since the Fraser Institute began measuring wait times in Canada (Barua, Rovere & Skinner, 2011)”.
The above is a common theme found in the countries that are utilizing universal healthcare. Physicians should reserve the right to triage and treat us based off of their clinical findings in regards to our own individual disease processes. The use of a government run system will undoubtedly push
Cited: BalancedPolitics.org - Universal Health Care (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages). (n.d.). BalancedPolitics.org - Free Balanced, Non-Partisan Discussion of Political & Social Issues for Debate (Pros and Cons - Decision Making Politics). Retrieved November 5, 2012, from http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm Right to Health Care ProCon.org. (n.d.). Right to Health Care ProCon.org. Retrieved November 5, 2012, from http://healthcare.procon.org/#Background Barua, B., Rovere, M., & Skinner, B. (2011). Waiting your turn: Wait times for health care in canada, 2011 report. Retrieved from http://www.fraserinstitute.org/publicationdisplay.aspx?id=2147484001 Susan, A. (2012, April 25). Healthpac online. Retrieved from http://www.healthpaconline.net/health-care-statistics-in-the-united-states.htm (2001, May 2). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00021313.htm