Is Health Insurance for Everyone?

This is the first unit of the final Junior humanities class Policy. In the first unit "Legislative," we learned all about the legislative branch of the government. We asked ourselves what policy really means, and what the difference between a policy and a law. We also looked at different policies made by the government or others. We looked at how a bill becomes a law, and how the different branches can check each other. We also learned about war and how war is declared. We had a debate in class about whether the U.S. should have joined WWI. We looked at the declaration of war and researched how the war affected the economy. For our FE we went to the Chicago City Council and met with officials and discussed issues around the city. We also met with Alderman Elect Andre Vasquez in his office in Andersonville. We discussed how city officials create and vote on policy. For this project, we had to write a letter to our representative. This could be an alderman, a state representative, or a house representative. I chose my district representative Danny K Davis who represents the 7th ward in the Chicago area. I do not live in Chicago so I don't have an alderman. We had to write about a current bill being proposed, and we had to encourage them to vote on it or not. I wrote to Representative Davis about health insurance for all. I chose this because I want to go into the medical field and I don't want to see people denied care because of their financial status.

Danny K. Davis
Congressman for the 7th District of Illinois
2815 West 5th Avenue
Chicago Illinois 60612

Dear Rep. Davis,

    Did you know that 27 million people in the United States do not have health insurance? Another 38 million do not have adequate healthcare. I believe that all Americans have the right to health insurance. Health care is a basic need that everyone deserves no matter their income. The Health Care For All of 2019 act would ensure that every United States citizen would get health care coverage. I would like to tell you why I think you should vote on this bill.

    Many people who do not have medical insurance delay or do not undergo necessary medical procedures out of need. This causes unnecessary health complications not due to lack of medical care, but because of lack of money. The number of uninsured people has fluctuated over the years. In 2008, when the financial crisis hit, over 44 million or 17.1% of the population were uninsured. In 2016, the number of uninsured people decreased from 44 million to around 27 million or 10% of the population was uninsured. Many people remain uninsured because of high costs and coverage not being available through jobs. The people who remain uninsured are most commonly low-income families, especially of color. According to the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation: “One in five uninsured adults in 2017 went without needed medical care due to cost. Studies repeatedly demonstrate that the uninsured are less likely than those with insurance to receive preventive care and services for major health conditions and chronic diseases.” Another key fact is that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicare.

    I would like to go into the medical field, and I do not believe in turning patients away or having patients not come because of financial reasons. If people come in for treatment, no matter if it is serious or not, they should be able to be treated with the same care anyone with any income should be. If people are not coming to be treated, underlying more serious issues may not be diagnosed until it is too late. A person who has regular check-ups and seeks medical attention when they feel is needed are far more likely to have a serious condition diagnosed early, and treated properly. According to the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation: People without insurance coverage have worse access to care than people who are insured. “One in five uninsured adults in 2017 went without needed medical care due to cost. Studies repeatedly demonstrate that the uninsured are less likely than those with insurance to receive preventive care and services for major health conditions and chronic diseases.” As a person who is passionate about medicine, and believes that everyone has the right to be treated equally, I think this is an extremely important issue that needs to be addressed. The issue could be addressed by the signing of the Healthcare For All Act of 2019

    Imagine a woman not being able to get regular Pap smears to screen for cancer, or a child no being able to get vaccinated for preventable illnesses. These are the kinds of issues uninsured Americans are facing right now. Medications, check-ups, procedures, surgeries, tests are covered by Medicare. Families who do not have access to Medicare have to pay out of pocket for these expensive necessary treatments which can range from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. A patient with diabetes should not have to pay out of pocket for a life-saving drug like insulin. According to The Hill. over 7 million Americans rely on insulin. According to the American Diabetes Association, the average price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013. Insulin is a life-saving drug and it is unfathomable that low-income people have to pay prices decided by for-profit companies.

    The signing and progression of the Health Care For All Act of 2019 would ensure that all Americans would have health insurance. This act would eliminate private insurance companies and would give hospitals and other health care centers an annual budget. This means that people of all incomes could get the medication, procedures, tests, checkups, and surgeries they need. This would greatly reduce the number of fatalities related to unknown and undiagnosed medical conditions. According to Modern Healthcare, “Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D- Wash.) told reporters that the goal of the Medicare for All Act of 2019, which has more than 100 co-sponsors, is to completely overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and convert it to a government-run entity.”

     There are some downsides to the bill. According to Modern Healthcare: Jayapal expects that around one to two million people would be out of work if the legislation becomes law because of the elimination of most private insurance. She said that 1% of the global budget for hospitals will go to a fund to provide services to displaced workers in the insurance industry. "This could include pension benefits, include any number of things that would take care of these workers as we transition," Jayapal said. "I do think there will be a boon to the economy once we get healthcare under control,"Jayapal added that a private insurance industry could still exist, but they couldn't cover the same benefits as Medicare, which include coverage of prescription drugs, hospital and physician services and long-term care services. However, insurers could cover services such as cosmetic surgery or other types of elective benefits.” Even though there would be an adjustment period for the healthcare system and the economy, the long term outcome would greatly benefit generations to come. With the health care for all act, we could make the lives of so many Americans better.

    In the Declaration of Independence described Americans unalienable rights. These are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. With millions of Americans without insurance and without live-saving medications and procedures, these unalienable rights are not being met. A person who is constantly sick is not happy, a person who dies because of their lack of income is being denied life. So I urge you, please help make America a better place by voting yes on the Health Care for All Act of 2019.

Sincerely,
-CM

U.S. House of Representatives. "Danny Davis" (2014) Wikimedia Commons.

In conclusion, this was an interesting project. It was hard to find a bill that was still current and that I want to write about. I think choosing a very talked about bill was a good idea because there are a lot of opinions and information about the bill. I am proud of the research I did. I think I found some meaningful statistics and facts that can grab attention. I hope you like my project!

Works Cited:

"Healthcare Crisis: Who's At Risk?" PBS.org. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 24, April 2019.

"Key Facts About The Uninsured Population." KFF.org Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Dec 07, 2018. Web. 24, April 2019.

King, Robert. "House Democrats Introduce 'Medicare for All' bill." Modern Healthcare. Crain Communications. Web.  Feb 27, 2019.

Pramila Jayapal "HR 1384: Medicare For All Act of 2019." Govtrack.us. Feb 27, 2019. Web. 24, April 2019.

"Sky Rocketing Insulin Prices Provoke New Outrage." HeHill.com. Web. 24, April 2019.