Introduction
Even though the United States is one of the most developed post-industrial countries in the world, it still has many difficulties that are associated with the health care industry. The traditional approach of a capitalist economy does not favor much any kind of help from the government that is financed by citizens’ taxes. Nowadays, a popular question remains in society asking whether health care is a right or a privilege. A moral choice would support the former opinion, while the country’s economy is not yet structured to satisfy the needs of everyone. Major reforms should be made to provide quality medical services to the nation, which is important since people are the most valuable asset of each state.
Moral Choice
Recognizing the right of every person to receive quality health care services is a trend followed by the country’s democratic government for the last several years. The American nation responded disproportionally. For instance, there are major debates over whether immigrants should be treated on the same level. It is easy to fall under the opinion that aliens represent a threat to the local society. The immigration crisis has increased the level of frustration among a significant number of Americans. Instead of seeking ways to protect minorities to promote the wellbeing of the whole community, they choose to blame immigrants and refugees for taking away their social and economic benefits. Such a situation is not exclusive to the United States. Canada, which also seems to be attractive to immigrants, has the same opinion within its community. For instance, the recent poll conducted among medicine workers demonstrated that the majority of them view health care as a privilege and are not willing to pay taxes for those who do not have proper coverage, even if it concerns children (Vanthuyne, Meloni, Ruiz-Casares, Rousseau, & Ricard-Guay, 2013, p. 84). It is not only immigrants who receive such opinions. Low-income families and senior citizens who cannot afford treatment are often prejudiced as well.
Nevertheless, the United States claims to be a leader of the democratic world. Thus, its community must share the idea of health care being a universal right. After all, people are the greatest asset of the country. Every initiative of the government should be targeted at improving their living conditions and quality. Besides, ordinary people should also be interested in the all-inclusive health care system due to the risk of disease rates growth. That is, everyone should strive to live in a healthy community.
Role of the Government
As it was mentioned earlier, the government should work towards creating a system where health care is a right of every person, disregarding social status or any other formal feature. However, it is easier to support democratic values rather than to distribute finances accordingly. Researchers admit that despite health care being a right, it is a service associated primarily with distributing the resources legally possessed by the country’s taxpayers (Maruthappu, Ologunde, & Gunarajasingam, 2013, p. 16). There should be a lot of work done to reform the system in a way that budget spending would satisfy everyone. For instance, the government might conduct a referendum where people could determine the industry sectors that they find the most important for the country’s wellbeing. Nowadays, the US demonstrates a disturbing practice of canceling the previous initiatives, but this process is yet to show it is the wrong path to take.
References
Maruthappu, M., Ologunde, R., & Gunarajasingam, A. (2013). Is health care a right? Health reforms in the USA and their impact upon the concept of care. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2(1), 15-17. Web.
Vanthuyne, K., Meloni, F., Ruiz-Casares, M., Rousseau, C., & Ricard-Guay, A. (2013). Health workers’ perceptions of access to care for children and pregnant women with precarious immigration status: Health as a right or a privilege?. Social Science & Medicine, 93, 78-85. Web.