Universal Health Care – A Basic Human Right

I am a college student aspiring to become a physician. Ever since I was little I’ve been perplexed by the idea of saving people’s lives; having someone trust you with their life is one of the most powerful attributes anyone could possess. However, how can a patient trust you with his or her life if they find themselves unable to pay for the cost? I could never refuse to offer someone treatment, yet I would hate the feeling of knowing that although my patient obtained the necessary treatment, he or she will be unable to pay for the cost. We’ve all heard the stories of people who do not visit the doctor because they possess no health insurance, skip doctor visits or decide not to get medical treatments due to high costs. Medicare and Medicaid do not cover many of the expenses, and HMOs are not making it any cheaper. Does anyone else feel that today’s health care system, and more specifically, health care providers, are literally placing a price tag on our health?

The United States has been one of the most industrialized nations in the world for decades, yet our health care system does not even compare to other countries which we consider less developed. The U.S. provides its citizens with the most expensive health care in the world, and the time has come for that to change. Health care should be a universal human right, not a privilege; each year, thousands of people find themselves in financial hardship and even bankruptcy due to the ever-increasing cost of health insurance. People have died because they cannot afford the necessary medical treatments they need. Out of this group, the most affected are the elderly, the people that are in the most need for care.

I know of retired people, my friends’ grandparents and my own alike, that suffer on a daily basis because they either can barely pay for their medications, or simply cannot afford them altogether. My best friend’s grandfather, a Vietnam veteran who lost both his legs in the war, has been struggling ever since to pay for the necessary medications and treatments. More recently, the man had forcibly made the decision to cut back on medications because they were too expensive. People like him have given up their best years for others, only to suffer because HMOs view him as a loss of money to their company if they pay for all his medical needs.

HMOs, lobbyists, and other government figures and associations continue throwing dirt on proposed health care reforms to make health care more affordable, making claims that our government is getting rid of the world’s best health care system, and scaring retirees by informing them of the so-existing “death panels” and medical “rationing” that will be put in effect. The truth is, HMOs and some doctors alike view their patients as a business instead of a person in need; we are people, human beings with the right to live – our lives should not depend on whether we can financially afford them or not.

The Hippocratic Oath states that physicians should treat the ill to the best of one’s ability, and I believe certain doctors – acting as businessmen together with HMOs – should never forget that their duty is to help others. I aspire to become a physician, hoping to meet the new generation of physicians who will take the Hippocratic Oath instead of the hypocrite one, anyone interested?