17.S914 Reflection Paper: Health Care Reflection

Health Care Reflection The topic we focused on in this discussion was that of health care reform and universal health care. I was particularly interested in the topic when we began our discussion. The idea of universal health care had always appealed to me, but I was curious to see how others felt about the topic and why. As I had expected, a good number of the class felt similarly about universal health care as I did. However, I had not gone into class expecting my opinion to be changed in any way and thus was surprised when my classmates convinced me into believing something I had had trouble believing in the past. The discussion began with the question of whether we believed health care was a right. I had always had trouble with this idea because though I believed that everyone should have health care, I didn’t know if I could deem it a right. I had always felt that access to health care was a very important thing, especially because I come from a place where proper health care is not only difficult to find, but also impossible to pay for if found. However, health care had seemed less of a basic need than happiness or freedom. My classmates convinced me that it is just as important as happiness, freedom, and many other “basic needs” that we as a nation have already defined as rights. During the course of the discussion, I came to understand that without health care, few of us could properly enjoy the other basic rights. In addition to finally learning that health care is a right and not a privilege, I learned some interesting facts about universal health care as it has been implemented in other nations as well as details of how our current president hoped to make health care available to all. One of the most interesting things I learned was from the article titled “Obama Team Celebrates Anniversary of Romney’s Health Care Law.” This article explained that the health care legislation labeled “Obamacare” was modeled after Mitt Romney’s health care legislation, which was successfully implemented in Massachusetts. Having learned this, I thought that this piece of information would convince people that Obama’s attempt at universal health care was a good thing for the country. I was, however, surprised to hear that people defended Romney’s current position by giving the reasoning that what worked on a state level may not work on a national level. Personally I believe that the government should provide everyone with health care. Though I think President Obama is making a solid effort given the nature of the American people, I do not think his health care plan goes far enough. He has the right idea in mandating that all people have health insurance, however, I think removing the public option was a bad idea. The public option should have been kept so that people can afford to buy health insurance. But again, it must be noted that this is not a perfect solution. I think the only real solution that is likely to make a big difference to those who need it would be a universal health care plan provided by the government. 1