Brielle Bryan
Professor Clarke
CMST 100
March 5, 2004
Rhetorical Argument
Thesis statement: The federal government should enact a program of universal health care to better protect and serve all of its citizens.
I. The uninsured constitute a larger and more diverse segment of our population than most people realize.
B. Most of the uninsured are not those living in poverty.
1. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured found that over 80% of uninsured come from working families.
2. 2001 Census Bureau data showed that the largest increase in uninsured from 2000 to 2001 was among people who had incomes of $75,000 or more.
C. Data from the Health Insurance Association of America shows that the uninsured population continues to grow and could reach 61 million by 2009.
II. Lack of insurance leads to serious problems for those without it.
A. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 American die prematurely each year because they are uninsured.
B. According to Dr. W Light, a professor of health care policy and an expert on health care, 40% of bankruptcies in the US are the result of medical bills.
III. A universal health care program similar to the setup of the school system should be implemented by the federal government and would create unforeseen positive effects.
1. According to Dr. Mohammad Akhter of the American Journal of Public Health, if uninsured individuals obtained health insurance, their mortality rates would be reduced by 10-15%, their educational attainment would increase, and their annual earnings would rise by 10-30%.
2. While the claim is made that universal health care would cause problems of inefficiency, this claim is not necessarily true.
a. In his article in the American Journal of Public Health, Lawrence Brown – professor of health policy at Columbia University – has discarded claims that wait lists are prevalent in countries with universal health care systems.
b. Universal health care would lessen the amount of paperwork needing to be done by doctor’s offices and hospitals so that staff and time could be better employed in treating patients.
References
Akhter, M. (2003). APHA Policies on universal health care: Health for a few or health for all? American Journal of Public Health, 93(1), 99-101.
Brown, L. (2003). Comparing health systems in four countries: Lessons for the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 93(1), 52-56.
Centers for Disease Control National Health Interview Survey. (2004). Health Insurance Coverage: Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January – June 2003. Retrieved February 29, 2004, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm
Health Insurance Association of America. (2000). The Changing Sources of Health Insurance. Washington, DC: Custer.
Institute of Medicine. (2002). Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late. Washington, DC: Author.
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (2003). Health Insurance Coverage in America: 2002 Data Update. Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Light, D. (2003). Sick System. The Christian Century, 120(7), 9-10.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). Health Insurance Coverage: 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
In the preamble to our Constitution, the promotion of “general welfare” of its citizens is set forth as an intrinsic goal of the United States of America; yet, this in an area in which our nation has fallen shamefully short. We are the richest nation in the world, and yet, we are the only industrialized country that doesn’t guarantee its citizens access to medical care. If our country stands for justice and equity as we claim it does, then why is it that we turn a blind eye on so many of our citizens in need of health coverage? I’m sure that as not only Americans, but as human beings, every person in this room has a sense of justice and compassion for his fellow man and believes that everyone is entitled to basic human rights. But many of our fellow citizens are being left out in the cold when it comes to health care – one of the most basic needs. [Without health coverage, these individuals could die from something as simple as the flu. And since 18-24 year-olds are consistently the least insured segment of the population, this problem should be one of personal concern to many of you in this room, especially as you prepare to leave school and live on your own.] Therefore, I believe the federal government should enact a program of universal health care to better protect and serve all of its citizens. In proving my point I will define the uninsured population of America, discuss the problems caused by lack of insurance, describe the policy of universal health care that I believe will best suit our nation, and delineate the less obvious benefits of universal healthcare.
To understand why our nation is in need of universal health care, you must first understand that:
I. The uninsured constitute a larger and more diverse segment of our population than most people realize.
1. The survey also showed that 30.2% of 18-24 year-olds, consistently the least insured age group, were without insurance in 2003.
B. Most of the uninsured are not those living in poverty.
1. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured found that over 80% of uninsured come from working families.
a. 70% of uninsured have at least one full-time worker in their family
b. 56% of uninsured workers worked full-time for the full-year in 2002.
2. 2001 Census Bureau data showed that the largest increase in uninsured from 2000 to 2001 was among people who had incomes of $75,000 or more.
C. Data from the Health Insurance Association of America shows that the uninsured population continues to grow and could reach 61 million by 2009.
1. According to a report cited in the CQ Researcher, 2.2 million Americans lost their insurance during the 2001 recession and layoffs. [6]
2. Medical professor and fellow of the Center of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Dr. Donald W. Light claims that for each percent that health care costs rise, 300,000 people are dropped from coverage, and health care costs are currently rising at 8-10% a year. [2]
II. Lack of insurance leads to serious problems for those without it.
A. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 18,000 Americans die prematurely each year because they are uninsured.
B. According to Dr. Donald Light, a professor of health care policy and an expert on health care, 40% of bankruptcies in the US are the result of medical bills.
* ConsumerHealth.com: typical doctor’s visit w/o insurance will cost $80-100
III. I will propose my plan for implementing universal health care and then address several of the prominent arguments against it.
1. Many claim it will lead to decreased quality of services.
- My plan will avoid that, and it’s better than what millions of Americans are receiving now.
2. People claim that the United States can’t afford universal health care.
a. According to Dr. Donald Light, 24.1 percent of what employers and citizens pay goes to the complex billing, marketing, and administrative structures of the voluntary American system rather than to clinical services
b. He also says that 16-20% of the $1.3 trillion spent annually on health care could be saved with a simplified universal system. (ER care)
3. People claim that universal health care is inefficient.
1. The American Journal of Public health discards claims that wait lists are prevalent in countries with universal health care systems. [10]
2. Universal health care would lessen the amount of paperwork needing to be done by doctor’s offices and hospitals so that staff and time could be better employed in treating patients.
IV. The implementation of universal health care would be beneficial to our citizens in less obvious ways.
1. According to Dr. Light, the US ranks 72nd in the world in health gain per $1 million spent, far below all other industrialized countries. [2]
In the hopes that you, too, will support a universal health care system for our nation, I’ve discussed the uninsured as a population, talked about the problems associated with lack of insurance, proposed universal health care as a solution to these problems, and described the less obvious benefits of universal health care. If our country is going to continue to act as a guardian of human rights throughout the world and chastise other nations for the inhumane treatment of their citizens, we must first improve the conditions of our citizens here at home. The first step in achieving this goal is realizing that health care – like education – should be a right for all citizens, not just a privilege for some.