The United States is a powerful country. Our technology, economy, and education is advanced, which has driven America to become a headstrong nation. However, our health care systems are faltering right before our eyes. As seen in Michael Moore's "Sicko", the issue of health care and insurance is destroying the lives of many Americans. While we were watching the documentary, I felt really bad inside. It was hard to hear about these devastating stories, where people had died because they lacked the money to pay for their cure. These people had the potential to live, but were stripped of this opportunity because of money. Why is this happening in such a booming country?
When I look around the world and their problems, poverty and poor health care are key issues that are prevalent. Our society highlights these global problems so much that we tend to forget about the same problems lurking in our own countries. There has to be initiatives by the American people and health care providers to tackle and fix these problems. In addition, insurance countries must find options to secure their members and protect their health. Also, the government plays a strong role in these issues. Thus, we must educate ourselves on the platforms of the different candidates. The next President is going to have a strong influence on this topic and its solutions.
Therefore, as Americans we need to be aware of the lack of health care in our own country and address the problem. As the strong country we are, we should not be leaving sick Americans dumped on the street like trash or depriving people of money, so their family members suffer until dead. We must act.
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2 comments:
As the author of this original post states, the US is an extremely powerful and advanced country, yet we still have so many large and possible fatal issues. We certainly saw many of these issues in the few brief clips from "Sicko". Michael Moore, although extremely biased, does a great job in pointing out several of the problems that exist within our system. I, too, was upset and unsettled by many of the character's stories from the film, and I unfortunately felt and still do feel helpless. Difficulty in trying to receive care and pay for the increasing drug prices are just two of the things that are all too common now; many people face these problems, along with others, every day of their lives. Because of our contemporary situation and the dominance of insurance companies over our health care system, I have trouble trying to decide from which direction change must come from to be the most effective. Policy management becomes extremely important, but we still must keep in mind that the health of our nation is at the forefront of this problem.
I also agree with the author of the original post in her effort to make sure that we are all educated about the plans of our potential presidents. It is our responsibility to take charge of our lives and be educated about those who are making so many decisions for us. In several of my classes about health care and medicine I have learned of a variety of websites that state the candidates' most current views on several of the main issues. Although Obama and Clinton have similar ideas, McCain remains very conservative in his ideas of US health care and delivery.
The original author wrote that" the next President is going to have a strong influence on this [healthcare] topic and its solutions." I whole heartedly agree with this statement. I am sure that many of us in the class are advocating for universal healthcare, but during our class discussions I do not think if we specified what type we would most want (single payer like countries in EU and Canada or mix of private and public funding. There is a bog difference between requiring that everyone have health insurance and raising taxes to cover healthcare costs for everyone. The following website allows anyone to do a side by side comparison of the presidential candidates' health care proposals. http://www.health08.org/sidebyside.cfm
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