Stephanie Dimas

10/19/21

Per. 4

Should the U.S. Adopt Universal Healthcare?

Healthcare should be a natural human right in the richest nation in the world. If we had

universal healthcare, there would be a huge change but it would be a good type of change.

Almost everyone would benefit from it and it would encourage people to live better lives. One of

the reasons universal healthcare would benefit the United States is because people would live

longer and more productive lives and will prevent unnecessary deaths.

It is proven that universal healthcare can save lives. Studies show that lack of healthcare

is related to almost 45,000 deaths a year which means that people who don’t have insurance have

a 40% higher risk of death: “According to a study from Harvard researchers, “lack of health

insurance is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year,” which translates into a 40%

increased risk of death among the uninsured” (ProCon.org). This means that with more healthy

people living, we can have better economic productivity which can help with the cost of

universal healthcare.

When people are living healthy lives, they do more. They go to their jobs, they go

shopping, and do their daily routines. This moves the economy because people are spending

more and spending more can benefit everyone as well but when people are missing work due to

being sick, then the economy loses money: “the US economy loses $65-$130 billion annually as
a result of diminished worker productivity, due to poor health and premature deaths, among the

uninsured” (ProCon.org). As there continues to be an increase in economic growth, it will lower

the cost of healthcare.

Additionally, universal healthcare would also be less expensive than regular healthcare.

The amount of money that is being taken away from people’s paychecks is overwhelming and

this is because the healthcare system is also doing it for business so they charge more for profit;

universal healthcare would eliminate the extra “fees” and would save the U.S. money: “the health

care system in the U.S. is, to a great extent, run through a group of businesses… single-payer

Medicare For All would result in a 13% savings in national health-care expenditures. This would

save the country $450 billion annually” (U.S.News). However, even though universal healthcare

is a great idea, it can also come with its downsides.

Some reasons why there shouldn’t be universal healthcare is because it could worsen the

doctor shortage which would increase wait time and lower the quality/availability of disease

screening and treatment: “The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts a

shortfall of up to 104,900 doctors by 2030...Doctor shortages in the United States have led to a

30% increase in wait times for doctors appointments between 2014 and 2017...In countries with

a universal right to health care certain disease treatment outcomes are worse than the United

States. ” (ProCon.org). Despite these reasons, we should still have universal healthcare and as a

country, prevent these things from happening to us.

 In conclusion, universal healthcare would be a great opportunity for many people and

would bring lots of benefits for the U.S. After all, taking care of our citizens and providing these

opportunities would make a better country.

 Works Cited

ProCon.org. “Pros & Cons - ProCon.org.” Right to Health Care, 5 June 2020,

https://healthcare.procon.org/.

Sousa , Lorie A, et al. “Health.usnews.com.” Point Turning Point: the Case for Universal Health

Care, 13 May 202AD, https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/oss.