Need for a New Health Care System Essay -- Politics Health Care Medica

Need for a New Health Care System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the major problems nagging America is the need for a new health care system. The number of uninsured Americans needing medical treatment is rising. Medicare, a major part of the American health care system, is projected to go broke in 2019 according to USA Today?s article, 'Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare.' I have seen this ruin people?s pursuit of happiness. I worked in a nursing home for the past five years. Many elderly patients run out of money to support themselves for their long term care. When they go on Medicare, only certain treatments and prescription drugs are available. This causes them to worsen in condition physically and mentally. I believe that with a national health care system, similar to the one in Canada and some European nations, this destruction of life and happiness will be decreased.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem with Medicare is that it is not efficient and is in serious financial problems. One huge concern stated in the USA Today?s article, ?Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare, is that the baby boomer generation is about to become eligible for Medicare, and there is currently barely enough money to cover the current population of beneficiaries. Medicare is not the only problem with the American health care system. Increasing amounts of uninsured people, increasing prescription drug costs, increasing amounts of prescription drugs per individual, and the trend toward more expensive drugs are some of the other factors troubling the current health care system (Hansen 2). We all pay for the uninsured through increased medical bills and insurance premiums (Hansen 3). Prescription drug costs are rising due to the increases in research and development costs (Hansen 3). People are requiring more medication and do not tend to shop for the best price, instead they buy what is recommended and sometimes the most expensive (Hansen 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We cannot just lower the cost of prescription drugs and expect a huge effect on medical costs. We still are going to be faced with the failure of Medicare and the increasing amount of uninsured Americans. With the increase in the number of uninsured Americans, the increase in the cost of health care will come. With the baby boomer generation coming to eligibility age for Medicare, it is inevitable that Medicare will run dry. Thi... ...o emotional depression. One of our three unalienable rights that our country gave us is the pursuit of happiness. With the current health care policies, many elderly are being restricted of this right. With a national health care system, the country as a whole would benefit. Our national health would improve, uninsured citizens would be eliminated, costs would fall, and Medicare would be revived. Works Cited Axworthy, Lloyd and Spiegel, Jerry. ?Retaining Canada?s health care system as a global public good.? Canadian Medical Association Journal 167.4 (2002): 1-3. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . ?Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare.? USA Today (2004): 1-2. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . Hansen, Christopher W. ?Perspective on drug costs.? Vital Speeches of the Day 70.10 (2004): 1-8. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . McCarthy, Michael. ?US doctors group calls for national health-care system.? Lancet 362.9384 (2003): 1-2. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . Need for a New Health Care System Essay -- Politics Health Care Medica Need for a New Health Care System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the major problems nagging America is the need for a new health care system. The number of uninsured Americans needing medical treatment is rising. Medicare, a major part of the American health care system, is projected to go broke in 2019 according to USA Today?s article, 'Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare.' I have seen this ruin people?s pursuit of happiness. I worked in a nursing home for the past five years. Many elderly patients run out of money to support themselves for their long term care. When they go on Medicare, only certain treatments and prescription drugs are available. This causes them to worsen in condition physically and mentally. I believe that with a national health care system, similar to the one in Canada and some European nations, this destruction of life and happiness will be decreased.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem with Medicare is that it is not efficient and is in serious financial problems. One huge concern stated in the USA Today?s article, ?Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare, is that the baby boomer generation is about to become eligible for Medicare, and there is currently barely enough money to cover the current population of beneficiaries. Medicare is not the only problem with the American health care system. Increasing amounts of uninsured people, increasing prescription drug costs, increasing amounts of prescription drugs per individual, and the trend toward more expensive drugs are some of the other factors troubling the current health care system (Hansen 2). We all pay for the uninsured through increased medical bills and insurance premiums (Hansen 3). Prescription drug costs are rising due to the increases in research and development costs (Hansen 3). People are requiring more medication and do not tend to shop for the best price, instead they buy what is recommended and sometimes the most expensive (Hansen 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We cannot just lower the cost of prescription drugs and expect a huge effect on medical costs. We still are going to be faced with the failure of Medicare and the increasing amount of uninsured Americans. With the increase in the number of uninsured Americans, the increase in the cost of health care will come. With the baby boomer generation coming to eligibility age for Medicare, it is inevitable that Medicare will run dry. Thi... ...o emotional depression. One of our three unalienable rights that our country gave us is the pursuit of happiness. With the current health care policies, many elderly are being restricted of this right. With a national health care system, the country as a whole would benefit. Our national health would improve, uninsured citizens would be eliminated, costs would fall, and Medicare would be revived. Works Cited Axworthy, Lloyd and Spiegel, Jerry. ?Retaining Canada?s health care system as a global public good.? Canadian Medical Association Journal 167.4 (2002): 1-3. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . ?Congress refuses to swallow cures for ailing Medicare.? USA Today (2004): 1-2. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . Hansen, Christopher W. ?Perspective on drug costs.? Vital Speeches of the Day 70.10 (2004): 1-8. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 . McCarthy, Michael. ?US doctors group calls for national health-care system.? Lancet 362.9384 (2003): 1-2. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOhost. University of Iowa, Main Library. 18 Dec. 2004 .