Assignment 16 - Speech - Peter Marino

In the United States, human rights exist independent of our culture, religion, race, nationality, and economic status. And Health care as a right is one of the most crucial rights. However, race, ethnicity, and economic status all play a deciding role in receiving health care and the quality of it. The presence of continual disparities in care and quality of care requires immediate mitigation by the government, reforms in private institutions of health care, and universal health care available to all.

To say health care isn’t a right is saying it is permissible to let a person die when appropriate health care could save them. You may argue that people work for the money needed to afford the care, but for the people that can’t, it is an issue that could have resulted from systemic racism and prior segregation. In 1966, the United Nations adopted an article that states health care as being a human right, but in 2015, in a US report to the United Nations, we failed to even identify health as a human right. The government needs to take immediate action to prevent any further unnecessary deaths due to a lack of healthcare for any person. Racial and ethnic minorities are especially susceptible to this, and this must be stopped. In a study done on the quality of care in medication, it was found that there was up to a 50 percent racial disparity in the quality of care. Black and Hispanic patients overall have a lower quality of care than white patients. This same study found that while many of the racial/ethnic disparities can be mitigated, they still exist in the socio-economic aspect. So, the main problem of health care disparity is not race or ethnicity, but socioeconomic status.

This realization led me to my next point. Reforms of private institutions of health care are paramount. Of the one trillion dollars in federal spending, only one percent is left for public health. This leads almost all citizens to resort to private health institutions. According to an article from the New York Times, there are deep divides in income when it comes to health care, and much of this is thanks to policies set in place by private health care providers. In a recent Washington Post article, several studies were shown on the Affordable Care Act aka the ACA. The affordable care act is a policy for private institutions, to make healthcare more attainable. The act was linked to reduced racial and socioeconomic disparities in care. If more reforms, like the ACA, are put in place, then the gap in health care for people would dissipate.

In addition to the reforms to privatized care, there is a general need for universal care. I believe that there is no scenario where a person should go without any form of care for their health. Many people do not meet the requirements to qualify for the ACA. Additionally, if anyone is unemployed, they may not be able to afford it. While the conditions of universal care may not be at the standard quality of private care, it is a preferable alternative to receiving no care at all. Implementation is also a key issue, and government-provided health care for the military is an exemplary system run by the government that shows how a universal one could be applied. Many critics of this model say that it could never be applied on a larger scale, but it is somewhere to look and start a plan for a universal system.

The solution I am advocating for has a distinct duality to it. The solution is universal health care for all who need it and more reformed private institutions of health care for those who seek the private policies of the companies. Inequality in health care is prevalent in many aspects and the solution to solve this is the addition of a universal health care system. The visual behind me sums it up best, the best health care is only available to those who can afford it, and this needs to change.

Works Cited

Frakt, Austin, and Aaron E. Carroll. “What the Experts Want Us to Know About Public Health.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Sept. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/upshot/what-the-experts-want-us-to-know-about-public-health.html.

Gerisch, Mary. “Health Care As a Human Right.” American Bar Association, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-state-of-healthcare-in-the-united-states/health-care-as-a-human-right/.

McGinley, Laurie. “ACA Linked to Reduced Racial Disparities, Earlier Diagnosis and Treatment in Cancer Care.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 June 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/06/02/aca-linked-reduced-racial-disparities-earlier-diagnosis-treatment-cancer-care/.

Xie, Zhiwen, et al. “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Medication Adherence among Privately Insured Patients in the United States.” Plos One, vol. 14, no. 2, 14 Feb. 2019, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212117.