Overview – Health Care Issues

Health Care Issues Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, 2015

In recent years, the availability and affordability of health insurance in the United States has become

the subject of much debate. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights lists medical

care among the basic human rights to which all people are entitled. In 2011, however, about 17

percent of Americans had no health insurance at all. For many people who are insured, the cost of coverage is a financial hardship. This situation has led some people to call for the government to provide health insurance for all citizens. Others, however, are skeptical of government’s ability to efficiently manage health insurance and oppose any plans that involve government. The issue is made more urgent by rapidly rising health care costs that threaten to overwhelm the country’s current

system of health insurance, and the national economy in general. Health care reform has become one

of the most important issues in contemporary American politics.

The Basics of Health Care

In most developed countries, health care systems involve government control or sponsorship. For instance, in Great Britain, Scandinavia, and the countries of the former Soviet Union, the government controls almost all aspects of health care, including access and delivery. For the most part, health services in these countries are free to everyone; the systems are financed primarily by taxes. Other countries, such as Germany and France, guarantee health insurance for almost all their citizens, but the government plays a smaller role in managing health care. Both systems are financed at least in part by taxes on wages.

The US government, by contrast, does not pay for most of its citizens’ health care. Generally, Americans receive health care through employer-sponsored insurance, or they arrange to pay for insurance on their own. Like all forms of insurance, health insurance operates by pooling the resources of a group of people who face similar risks. This creates a common fund that members can draw upon when needed. Each person in the group pays a certain amount, called a premium, every month. These premiums are used to cover the medical expenses of group members who become sick or injured.

Health Insurance in the United States

Today, most Americans receive health insurance through their place of work. Employers typically pay for part of the premiums. Most employer-sponsored plans are administered through payroll contributions. People who are self-employed and those whose employers do not provide health insurance must purchase individual health insurance. Individual plans are generally more expensive than group plans. Certain low-income individuals and families may be eligible for Medicaid, a form of

government-sponsored health insurance. In 1997, the US government introduced the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to assist the children of families who do not qualify for Medicaid but