Health Care Reform And Access Of The American Political...

Problem Health care reform and access to insurance have been staples of the American political agenda ever since the end of World War II. From President Truman’s call for universal coverage in the late 1940’s to the creation of Medicaid and Medicare to the Affordable Care Act, both parties have debated how to lower the rate of uninsured Americans. After nearly 70 years of debate in Washington and beyond, the number of Americans with health insurance has certainly grown (Miller, 2014). However, the number of people in the United States without coverage is still unacceptably high and a problem that should be addressed with a great deal of urgency and care. Being without health insurance is a major problem in the United States, both on an†¦show more content†¦These are the people who could have made a real difference, whether on the local level or even changing the world. When the country loses so many great and potentially great people due to a preventable death, the entire society loses. With so many deaths and a heightened potential to die at any moment, lack of health insurance is clearly a problem for any individual American and the nation as a whole. The number of Americans without health insurance is still high enough that the negative consequences outlined above pose a significant threat to many people. As of January 2015, the percentage of uninsured Americans stood at 12.9% of the total population (Levy, 2015). Although this may seem like a low number, this statistic indicates that there are tens of millions of people in the U.S. who are susceptible to the risks of dying at the hands of something that could have been prevented with coverage. Thus, the uninsured rate is still high enough to warrant concern from policy makers and should serve as a call to action to work towards getting as many Americans as possible covered. As demonstrated above, lack of health insurance is a legitimate problem for any individual American, as well as society as a whole. This problem is greatly compounded by the large numbers of people who are not covered. Although much progress has been made in getting people insurance, the uninsured rate is still a problem and there is work to be done. Solution If someone does not have