Health Care in the U.S. vs. Other Countries

In the United States we have some of the best health care available in the world, if you can afford to pay for it. 68% of Republicans, 32% of Democrats and 40% of Independents believe that health care in the United States is the best. This excellent health care is extremely expensive and health insurance is becoming more and more difficult for most Americans to keep. 1 out of 3 Americans under the age of 60 will go without health insurance for a few months every two years. Of those Americans living temporarily without health insurance, 1/3 of them will be uninsured for at least nine months, according to www.sharedprosperity.org.
The cost of merely paying for your health care or insurance out of pocket is very high. Those who have little money or are poorer, but not eligible for our current system of government medical aid, Medicaid and Medicare, find it impossible to afford adequate insurance nor are they able to pay for medical care out of their own pockets. One major illness or injury could bankrupt a family or the patient would not receive this same excellent care since they can’t afford. Those who are fortunate to have insurance through an employer often find that the parts of medical care not covered by the insurance to be very expensive.
Many other countries use a government run health care system, including Canada and parts of Europe. People who are against a government run health care system will argue that the care received in those countries is inferior to care received in the United States. However citizens of countries with government health care seem to get broken bones taken care of and citizens of Canada do not seem to be unhealthy. Their choice may be limited, but they are able to receive affordable health care when they are ill.
Our country has excellent health care, but the question is how can some people afford it? Obama is trying to make our health care system run like Canada’s. But by the time the government gets a new health care system set up, we will probably have lost even more citizens in our country because they can’t afford the cost of medical treatment. Our country is one of the top advanced countries in the medical field. But Americans can’t take advantage of that, if they can’t afford it.