Depend on argument you choose - Essay Example

to have universal, single payer health care. Both sides of the political fence are unhappy. So what’s new? The ACA falls short of a European/Canadian style health care system but is an improvement on the old, broken system that allowed millions to go without medical care and contributed to bankrupting the nation. The Obama administration will not admit that the ACA is the first step to the ultimate goal of universal care, but liberals hope it is because this approach has been proven the most humane and fiscally responsible.

Health care has long been considered a commodity in the U.S.: a person receives as much as they can afford. Those who cannot afford health insurance usually wait until they are critically ill enough to go to the emergency room – a bad alternative for them and a community that has to pay for it. The working poor are denied the same quality of care as middle and upper income earners. Many think this is an immoral and inequitable system particularly to those who are poor by accident of birth. A child born to wealthy parents enjoys the finest care.

They have regular checkups, are provided with preventative care and full access to medical and dental treatment. To a child born to poor parents, health care is a luxury, not a fact of life they take for granted. The presumed choice for society is one of ethics or practicality. Too many would choose the latter. “Would we be more ethical to give medicine to a child so he or she does not die prematurely of preventable diseases, or would we be more ethical if we let the child die screaming in his or her parent’s arms so we can keep more of our money?

” (Rigby). Universal health care would make access to quality health care available to all regardless of income or background and the ethics vs. practicality argument is a false choice. Universal care is less expensive than the current system. Another example of the