Health Care Issues In America
Deadly diseases, little children dying from cancer because of not getting the full care they need. This is caused by families not having health insurance — meaning they have to pay full price for their child or themselves to go to the hospital and get cared for. But many people can’t pay for the full price of care. Thousands of people die each year from lack of care and medicine. These people are not just adults but infants and young children. They’re dying from deadly disease, cancer. Women are dying from childbirth. People aren’t able to pay for care if they broke their leg or are severely sick. People deserve a life where they don’t have to wake up with fear they might get hurt, or sick and can’t pay for the care they need and could eventually die.
I have a passion for the big issue of healthcare and the fact that many people in the US do not have access to healthcare and medicine. 33 million Americans went without health care in the entirety of 2014, millions were uninsured. Many of these people were poor, black and Hispanic people, many of them were children. Healthcare varies around the world. Almost all wealthy nations provide healthcare. Healthcare is challenging due to the costs required as well as various social, cultural, political and economic conditions.
There isn’t one answer to health care, but a number of systems and issues seem to be emerging. Those who still can’t afford it are suffering from diseases, broken body parts and more. This is one of the many problems we are facing in the U.S and other countries.
I interviewed a physician assistant, Lisa. I asked her about five things having to do with health care. I asked her what she knows about health care. “Those who have insurance are paying up to $5000. But those who don’t are called “private pay” patients who are paying 3 times the amount that people with insurance are paying and many can’t afford the full treatment of care because they don’t have insurance. We as health providers work hard to find places for those who can’t afford insurance,” she says. “We as health providers have to be very aware of what insurance patients have so we can give them the full amount of care they can afford.”
I asked her how she feels about health care. “It is hard to have to tell patients they can’t get some of the care they need because they need insurance to pay for some of the tests, labs or other things to explore more about what’s happening with the patient.” She says she wishes there wasn’t a cost for health care.
I asked her why she wanted to become a medical professional. “I became a medical professional because I love to help people help themselves, I love to connect with patients on a level of trust. It didn’t scare me to be around those who can’t control their bodily functions and didn’t gross me out to clean up after patients. In general, being a health provider is pretty rewarding.” She says she got inspired to go into medicine around the age of 17.
I asked her what she would change about health care if she could. “I want to be able to educate more people about how to take care of themselves more. More emphasis on self-care. I want insurance companies to invest more into mind, body and spirit care.”
I asked her if she lost any passion for being a medical professional after finding out more about what happens in patients lives. “No, it actually made me want to care for people more. Made me want to help people physically and mentally through their healing process.”
I asked her about advice for aspiring medical professionals. “If you enjoy putting time and effort into your work and not just do it because it’s work, that is something that will make you a great doctor/medical professional. Many doctors lack a part of “self love” so when they take care of patients, often times they know what’s physically going on with their patient, but not mentally. You need to work on being “well rounded” and caring for yourself so you can care for other people.”
Look at this adorable child getting a check-up, getting the care that baby needs. Think about all the babies, young children and adults in the world that can’t have care because they don’t have health insurance. I want to let people know about this problem because it is a big part of world issues. I want to let people know about this problem and how they can help. I want all children and families everywhere to get the care they need. But that’s not how the world works. This is why I am telling people about this issue, because I wanna let people know how bad this issue is and how we can help.
I have a passion for medicine because I want to go to medical school and learn to be either a general surgeon, pediatric surgeon, or brain surgeon. Healthcare went along well with my passion for medicine and so I chose to talk about both.
I was reading an article that is saying Trump will repeal Obamacare. That will leave tens of millions of Americans without health insurance. This is a big issue because those who are insured now, will be uninsured and will lose the health insurance they have. That means that if and when they get hurt, they won’t be able to get full care at the hospital. This is important to me because I care about people and their lives.
I chose the aspect of health insurance and how millions are not insured and many don’t have the money to get health insurance. In conclusion, health care is very important and is a big part of our lives. Health insurance is an issue for millions of people and we need to work on resolving it somehow.
This story is part of a new Storytelling for Changemakers program for Changemaker Schools activated in partnership with Ashoka’s Youth Venture and Start Empathy.
Individual views expressed in this blog are from individual students at YIHS and not representative of Ashoka, Start Empathy, or Youth Venture.
