Salud en usa

Diana P. Restrepo
Should the US government insure health care for all its citizens?
Proponents regard universal health care coverage as an inalienable right indented for the greater good of all American citizens. As declared in the United States Constitution, the government has a duty to promote the general welfare. Therefore, this statement is often interpreted as an obligatory pledge thatrequires the government to extent healthcare coverage to the populace.
An estimated 50 million Americans do not have medical insurance, and a similar and rapidly growing number are underinsured. The uninsured are excluded from services, charged more for services, and die when medical care could save them. In the United States, people without insurance may live with debilitating disease or pain,with conditions that prevent them from getting jobs or decent pay, putting many on a permanent poverty track. They have more difficulty managing chronic conditions—only two in five have a regular doctor leading to poorer health and greater cost. The uninsured are far more likely to wait to seek treatment for acute problems until they become severe. Even those who have insurance may not find out untilit's too late that exclusions, deductibles, co-payments, and annual limits leave them bankrupt when a family member gets seriously ill.
Following its implementation, universal health coverage will provide health insurance for an estimated 46.3 million additional citizens. Individuals facing economic hardship or lost income will be eligible for health coverage without fear or placing an unduefinancial burden on relatives. In 2007, an estimated 62.1% of all bankruptcies in the United States were filed as a result of medical costs, and nearly 20,000 Americans die each year due to the lack of health insurance. Universal health care coverage would help ease this financial struggle while mitigating the rapidly rising insurance premiums currently forced upon families. Individuals sufferingfrom pre-existing conditions will no longer be denied health insurance or forced to pay exorbitant insurance rates. Furthermore, health insurers cannot place a cap on coverage, which will reduce the frequency of medical-related bankruptcies. Some proponents also contend that universal healthcare insurance increases competition in the healthcare industry, resulting in increased efficiency and lowerprices for the insured. Free medical services would encourage patients to practice preventive medicine and inquire about problems early when treatment will be light; currently, patients often avoid physicals and other preventive measures because of the costs. Because many people are uninsured and those that do have insurance face high deductibles, Americans often forego doctor visits for minorhealth problems or for preventive medicine. Thus, health problems that could be caught at an early stage or prevented altogether become major illnesses. Things like routine physicals, mammograms, and HIV tests could prevent major problems. This not only affects the health of the patient but the overall cost of the system, since preventive medicine costs only a small fraction of a full blown disease. Agovernment-provided system would remove the disincentive patients have for visiting a medical professional. Medical professionals can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc. Doctors have to take classes now simply to understand all the insurance plans out there; they are often restricted by insurance practices, such as what tests can beordered. Doctors must practice defensive medicine to avoid getting sued. Some physicians are even leaving the profession rather than deal with all these non-medical headaches. A simplified universal health system would allow doctors, nurses, and other medical professions to simply focus on doing what's best for the patient. Medicine is a complex enough subject as it is. Our current system just...