Kiran's Post

The United States was built on the notion of trying to get away from a governmental power. The founding fathers of this country left England primarily to get away from taxes. Today, Americans inherently cringe the idea of the government making decisions for them. When it comes to health care, the “universal health care” is looked at as a socialist system because the American people have this pre-conceived notion of the government deciding on health care services for the entire population. However, most Americans fail to acknowledge the fact that about 46 million citizens are living without health insurance. Supporters of a free market system of health care have also worked to build up the argument that universal health care is a socialist system in the minds of most of the American population. What is wrong with the government providing basic health care to all of its citizens? The health of the country will be healthier overall, which will in turn increase productivity of the nation. Going back to the Frontline video that we all saw at the beginning of the semester, each government (focusing on Europe) provided some sort of universal health care. But I wouldn’t say it was any of them are a complete socialist system—each country had a sector of private health care, which people can choose to buy. Health is a freedom that should be provided by the government, so there is a guarantee that all citizens will have access to basic health care services. The government mandates car insurance, why not health insurance??