During the 1950s and ’60s, there was a man who fought for something. That man was Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. King dedicated his life to making a difference to insure that everyone was treated equally. His fight was for equality—no matter the color of your skin—and his fight was won. What are we fighting for today? The war on terrorism, same-sex marriage, or maybe even going green? But how can anyone truly win all of these important fights if we don’t first address the health of American citizens? America is more than willing to aid other countries in their reforms, and to give a helping hand to those in need or suffering at the hands of genocide. But where is America during our own medical genocide? America is one of the only first-world countries that does not have universal health care. Universal health care would be a great success for America; we want to be the best and this will make us the best. Not only is universal health care cost effective, but it is generally misunderstood and a moral obligation that everyone should support.
Lauri Mathews is covered for health insurance by Blue Cross through her job as vice president for Action Mortgage. Her insurance plan covers herself, her husband, and two of her daughters. Lauri pays an unreasonable $350 a month for health-care coverage for the four of them, and that’s without the amount her employer covers. Put that $350 on top of all of life’s other expenses and it’s quite the shock. Over one year’s time Lauri will have paid close to $4,200 on health insurance alone, which is 4.2 percent of her annual $100,000 income—not including any doctor or emergency room premium costs. According to Pat Regnier from Money magazine, some families can pay up to $10,000 or $13,000 a year on health insurance alone. If we take a look at other countries with universal health care one can see that their financial strain is not nearly as high.
France has a universal health-care system and was ranked number one in the World Health Organization’s rankings of the world’s health-care systems in the year 2000. Jason Shafrin explains that “About 99 percent of France’s citizens are covered by the national health scheme,” as opposed to the 83 percent of the population in the United States according to Pat Regnier from Money magazine. According to economist Dr. Jason Shafrin, most of France’s medical funding is from a 13.55 percent pay roll tax (employers pay 12.8 percent and individuals pay 0.75 percent). However the Institute for the Study of Civil Society (CIVITAS) stated that people “earning less than 6,600 euros per year do not have to contribute” into the national health-care scheme.
Norway has “a mandatory-participation nation health-care insurance program [that] provides free medical and hospital care as well as sick pay for all Norwegians,” according to “Our World: Norway” article writer Ellen Bailey. “In 2006 ... the United States spent $6,700 per capita on health insurance care, over double the OECD median expenditure of $3,200. Norway, the second biggest spender, spent $4,500 per person,” concluded Gale Opposing Viewpoints article writer Ben Furnas. Unlike the citizens of the United States, 100 percent of Norwegian citizens are covered and provided with extensive medical resources under their national health-care system, according to economist Dr. Jason Shafrin. Shafrin adds that “Norwegians [also only] pay 3 percent flat on their income to national health care.”
For an average American making $100,000 a year and spending 4.2 percent on health care, he/she would average spending $4,200 (plus premiums) a year—much like Lauri. Meanwhile, people living in France and making $100,000 a year, who are obligated to pay .75 percent to health care, would average spending only $750 a year. An average citizen in Norway also pays less than that of an American. If a Norwegian citizen made $100,000 a year and only had to contribute 3 percent of his/her earnings, it would average out to paying $3,000 a year. It is clear that these universal health-care models are more cost effective when compared with the private insurance model used in the United States. But why has this information never been presented before? The answer lies in the common misconceptions most Americans have regarding other health-care systems.
