The UDHR guarantees rights like basic education and freedom of opinion. Many of these freedoms are written into our very Constitution; however, others are unfortunately overlooked in our country.
Article 25 of the UDHR states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
Since its implementation, nearly every developed country, along with many underdeveloped countries, have instituted some form of universal healthcare. The United States is not one of these countries.
On Dec. 10, 1948, in the wake of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) to ensure fundamental human rights for individuals around the world.
The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, applies only to those who are under the Federal Poverty Line, leaving out a large group of people who do not qualify but also cannot afford health insurance. Today, 28 million people in the United States are without health insurance.
Despite this, it is hospital policy to treat individuals whether or not they are insured. It is also hospital policy to treat individuals regardless of citizenship status. Why? Why do we choose to save a person’s life without asking first if they can afford it or without checking if they are a citizen? Because we as a country, deep down, do believe that everyone has the basic right to life and good health.
However, these rights come at much too steep of a cost. The United States simply cannot call itself the best nation, the richest nation, or the most free nation when its citizens accrue a total of $140 billion in medical debt a year.
So how are we going to continue to say that this basic human right, the right to not die, is exclusively for those who can afford it?
It is unethical that 42% of cancer patients lose their life savings in their first two years of treatment. It is unethical that, on average, insulin costs $6,000 a year for one patient with diabetes. It is unethical that people refuse ambulances because of the costs. A three-day hospital stay is estimated to be $30,000. The median income for United States citizens is $31,000.
COVID-19 has only further highlighted the need for universal healthcare; without nationwide access to free COVID-19 tests and vaccines, there will be no end to this pandemic. Investing in a similar approach to all aspects of public health would only further promote the prosperity of our nation; there is no downside to less disease and less suffering in our country.
Even though universal healthcare would be expensive, many political candidates have proposed ideas for its financing. For example, US Senator Elizabeth Warren laid out her multi-layered plan for Medicare for All in 2020 during her presidential campaign. She pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class and instead target the top 1%, large corporations, and the financial sector. She also proposed reducing overfunded government budgets, clearing the way for a new healthcare plan.
As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it is incumbent upon us all to evolve from both what we have failed and succeeded in doing; as aforementioned, free COVID-19 tests and vaccinations are the first step of many that this nation must take to achieve a fair and equitable healthcare system.
