Healthcare Is Not A Privilege, It’s A Right
By Caroline Stott
Healthcare is a basic human right, not a privilege.
Healthcare in the United States is inadequate compared to healthcare in countries such as Canada because of the lower costs and access to medical care. In the United States, the prices of healthcare started to rapidly increase starting in the 1980’s. Many families struggled and still struggle to this day with basic healthcare and being ensured. For a quick perspective, the average cost of healthcare for men, women, and children in the United States is about $2,500 a year. In Canada, the average cost of healthcare is about $550 per person. Because of the great increase in the amount of money people throughout the United States are spending on healthcare, the United States now spends four times as much money on healthcare compared to Canada. According to Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times, “If the U.S. healthcare system could trim its administrative bloat to bring it in line with Canada’s, Americans could save $628 billion a year while getting the same healthcare.” Overall, the United States is completely wasting its citizens money, 600 billion dollars total, when that money could be used for a better healthcare system that would benefit everyone.
As much as cost is an issue when it comes to basic healthcare, access to healthcare in the U.S. is definitely harder than it is in Canada. To compare the United States to Canada, Canada has a universal, publicly funded healthcare system known as Canadian Medicare. The Commonwealth Fund says, “Each person has its own insurance plan, and each receives cash assistance from the federal government on a per-capita basis.” All citizens also receive free medically necessary hospital or doctor’s services at each point of use. About 28 million Americans do not have access to healthcare or insurance while every citizen in Canada receives some sort of healthcare.
Although healthcare in Canada is cheaper, the healthcare quality is better in the United States. Citizens in the United States who are capable and are paying for more expensive healthcare and medical insurance are receiving higher quality assistance than the people who pay less for insurance. The escalating cost of care should not be blamed on the administrative practices because they are privately managed care. As Melissa Healy says, “In head-to-head comparisons, the free market continues to be more efficient than government-run systems.” Canada has a great healthcare system, but the actual quality of healthcare being received in the United States is better. When being hospitalized in Canada, the first thing doctors will ask is “what’s wrong?” whereas in the United States, the first thing doctors will ask is “what is your medical insurance?” After leaving the hospital, a Canadian citizen will not have a hospital bill to pay, so when this is compared to the United States, it is a huge difference because a hospital bill in the U.S. is usually very costly.
Healthcare is a basic necessity that everyone deserves to have access to. It should not matter where you live, how much money you make, or how many conditions one may have. We are all created equally and deserve to have equal healthcare.
