The political division in our country is at an all-time high; one of the issues creating the lack of unity is our current healthcare policy. Most conservatives argue that healthcare should not be free for all, while many Democrats argue for the exact opposite, universal healthcare. Universal (government-funded, free) healthcare means that all people have access to the healthcare services they need without the risk of financial difficulty paying for them. The problem here is that it is free at the expense of taxpayer dollars. Of course, health care is a valuable service, but not at the expense of workers and upper-class citizens. A government-funded healthcare system cannot deliver what it promises and should not be implemented. Free healthcare is not a human right, would result in the provision of substandard care to patients, and would increase taxes along with our country's national debt. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, free healthcare is not mentioned anywhere in the Declaration of Independence and is therefore not a human right in the United States. This topic centers on the few words “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” stated in our Declaration of Independence. Nowhere in the document is healthcare addressed. In 2018, The Odyssey published an article laying out some of the problems our country faces when debating free health care, “the biggest of which is that health care is, in fact, not a right. It's a commodity. You have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You are not entitled to a service provided and paid for by other people.” Some Americans choose to infer that “life,” one of the three rights of American citizens, means that the government should provide health care at no cost. This, however, is not the case as the government provides “life” to people by giving them the opportunity to choose which plan best suits their needs. As stated in a 2016 Forbes article, “the government should protect the freedom of customers to purchase (and the freedom of insurers to offer) mutually acceptable insurance plans.” Instead of delivering a single plan to all the American people, each citizen has the freedom to prioritize their needs and choose from a wide variety of plans based on their personal preferences. While it's not free, every American has access to healthcare, which is critical. “Everyone agrees that healthcare is a necessity of life. The same goes for food, shelter and clothing. Yet no one is calling for universal “food care” or universal state housing. The critical issue is that people expect access to food, shelter and clothing,” as stated in an article published by the Washington Times in 2017. The Declaration of Independence is what our country was built on and assistance Free healthcare is not declared as a right. In addition to the fact that government-funded healthcare is not a human right, another important consequence of this system is that the services offered are not guaranteed. Some Americans believe that free health care means they will have medical care at their convenience, but the Washington Times states that this “does not guarantee timely access to actual medical care” (2017). When healthcare is free our country is.
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