Argument for universal healthcare

The Significance of Health Equity Worldwide Mark A Cook English Comp 2 Professor’s Name Date of Submission Introduction Universal healthcare (UHC) is an arrangement that aims to provide healthcare services to every member of the political community without being charged a premium (Koohpayezadeh et al., 2021). In the United States, such an endeavor has been realized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which increases coverage and decreases the rate of uninsured citizens (APHA, n.d.). Government officials should pass accurate healthcare like that of ACA because these measures ensure that all citizens get adequate access to hospital amenities essential for health, particularly pediatric, geriatric, and maternal healthcare, at a cheap cost, enhancing society's health and productivity. An Equitable Healthcare Access: Key Examples from US’ Affordable Care Act Prior to the implementation of ACA, most Americans had restricted access to healthcare, especially Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native citizens. For instance, one-third of low income with cardiovascular disease or risk factors for cardiovascular disease are uninsured, with around 13% of Black/African American adults and 29% of Hispanic/Latino adults with cardiovascular disease or risk factors of the same facing no insurance (CDC, 2023). Notably, the reproductive maternal health of women in these communities was poor as these individuals could not access primary prenatal and postnatal care, which could be evidenced by higher maternal mortality in the US as compared to other high-income countries with UHC systems (CDC, 2023). According to Gunja et al. (2024), the US ratio of maternal mortality is 22 per 100000 live births, which is much higher as compared to the countries that have healthcare facilities for all their citizens, where the maternal mortality rate usually ranges below 5% per 100000 live births. The lack of universal, affordable maternal care in the US plays a role in this inequality, especially in Black women, whose mortality rate during childbirth is significantly higher. Consequently, ACA was able to resolve these problems by improving insurance access and ensuring that maternity must be offered as an essential health benefit. In this regard, the woman-centered approach achieved the target of increasing access to maternal health care, hence achieving better maternal health care outcomes, as reflected by the low maternal mortality rate. Even when comparing the US post-ACA implementation with other nations that have fully implemented the UN’s sustainable development goals of UHC, the inequalities are evident, especially in maternal health, where the other nations perform better (O’Mahen & Petersen, 2021). This should spur further calls for UHC reforms in the US to ensure all its population is accorded an equal chance. As stated by Ranabhat et al. (2023), the idea of UHC has gone through different stages of development known as the PHC approach, MDG period, and SDG period. Every phase focused on various elements of health coverage, with each phase accomplishing a great deal in terms of communicable disease control and maternal health, particularly compared to previous levels of maternal, neonatal, and child mortality, especially in developing countries. UHC has, therefore, been grounded on human rights, as people's right to access health care is inalienable. This evolution process affirms that UHC is not just a healthcare delivery system but a political and social project of attending to low-income, the vulnerable, and the marginalized and reaching health equity to afford essential healthcare without incurring excessive out-of-pocket expenses. Insurance enhancements such as financial risk protection and better health care must be promoted equally for a state to achieve fair health status. The fact that the US had similar or even worse experience in ensuring UHC owing to persistent inequality despite the ACA. Coupled with the slow growth of UHC systems to unlock UHC principles, it underscores the global dimension on the subject, thus helping to underscore the importance of political commitment and sensible resource allocation in order to realize meaningful healthcare equity. Economic Conservation through Universal Healthcare Before specific changes occurred, like the American healthcare system, there was such a problem as constantly rising costs, mainly because of ineffective preventive care. Consequently, Yong et al. (2010) argue that the lack of funding for preventive care has, among other things, borne high human and economic prices. For example, it is estimated that about 40 percent of all deaths in the U. S result from preventable behaviors, including smoking, poor diet, and inactivity. The perpetuity of chronic diseases, which are avoidable, puts an enormous burden on the economy. The authors also explicitly stated that, “Past increases in the prevalence of chronic disease accounted for an estimated $211 billion of the $314 billion increase in healthcare spending in the United States between 1987 and 2000.” (Yong et al., 2010). Moreover, the Milken Institute states that, for chronic diseases alone, the burden is greater than mere healthcare costs; for every $1 spent, $4 of productivity is lost. Furthermore, the lack of prevention results in increased rates of health services consumption, decreased level of profitability, and reduced life satisfaction, which estimates that annually, one hundred thousand lives might be saved through the enhancement of delivery of only five basic forms of preventative measures. Thus, realizing a universal goal such as UHC can go a long way to eliminating these costs because UHC provides equal access to preventive measures. For instance, standard preventive measures, including screening and immunization, are robust in increasing lifespan and decreasing costs of ailments, particularly chronic diseases. According to Trust for America's Health, community-based prevention programs can potentially save $5 for every $ 1 invested, thus showing the considerable opportunity for cost savings in society (Yong et al., 2010). The above findings support the evidence that UHC, which provides equal accessibility to preventive services, is not only the right thing to do economically but also the right thing to do commercially. Health promotion and checking, recommending, and having access to necessary and sufficient healthcare, inclusive of cost-effective technological advancement to all people irrespective of their socioeconomic status, have several positive impacts, such as reduced healthcare costs, enhanced quality of human life, and productivity. If citizens had equal access to healthcare and had equal ability to afford preventable diseases, one of the most significant expenses would go down across the board. There would be less long-term illness and thus better health and economy. According to the data described above, it is evident that there are win-win scenarios in establishing UHC since the accomplishment of such schemes will not only result in pe...