In the richest, most prosperous country in the world, there is an internal crisis. This is a crisis that could easily be solved, but presently is eroding the country. The system of health care in America is utterly terrible, and the worst of any developed nation. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “of all of the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane”. It is estimated that over 45 million Americans do not have any sort of health insurance, and an increasingly high amount are underinsured. This means that - if they get sick - nearly a third of the nation’s population is at risk to either become economic slaves to insurance companies, or become sicker, and possibly die. It is not much better for those who actually possess insurance. Providers have a plethora of guidelines that can leave insured individuals paying thousands of dollars. This leaves many with a choice between economic security and health. Such a choice should never have to be made. Even with all the money spent on coverage, the World Health Organization rates American’s level of health 72nd in the world. This is below Slovakia, Malta, and Hungary. All of this is occurs in the richest country on Earth.
While a switch to a system of universal healthcare would seem to be the only logical solution to this problem, it would be terribly inconvenient for the government which receives a great deal of funding from pharmaceutical companies. It would also take a great deal of organization, which after Katrina, we know is not necessarily a forte of our government.