The essential role of Universal Healthcare in the Sustainable Development Goals
The American people have always had conflicting views about the role that the federal government needs to take in the provision of health care. However, the majority of the American population, during every national poll, favor universal healthcare since they believe that the U.S is the only industrialized nation without it. Most Americans have a belief that the federal government has been wasteful and bureaucratic, but fail to implement universal health care. As a result, it has been challenging for the government to persuade those Americans who have health insurance covers to pay more taxes to cover for those who do not have. Universal health coverage is one of the SDG health targets that is indispensable to attaining a better level and distribution of healthcare. In this case, the government needs to invest heavily in strengthening primary care so as to offer equitable access to its citizens. The trend in increased fiscal capacity in the country makes aiming towards UHC a feasible option, but it requires political commitment and effective policies to be put in place. The federal government needs to ensure that the inspirational SDGs matches its redoubled efforts so as to strengthen health care provision systems, produce and retain the health care providers, and enact a Universal Health Care program that will protect and serve the American people.
In the preamble of the constitution, the United States government has a duty to promote the general welfare of its citizens. However, this has been an area that the government has failed to achieve years after the implementation of the constitution. To attain such a fete, the government should come up with a proper health care delivery system that will protect the welfare of the Americans. Universal health care is a vital SDG health objective that combines fiscal protection against appalling health expenditure and medical insolvency as well as ensuring that essential services can be accessed. UHC is both a measurable goal that has a significant contribution to the welfare valued by the people, as well as an appropriate means that can be used to attain other SDG health targets. The 2012 UN General Assembly resolution considered it highly on the global agenda.
To attain good UHC outcome, it is vital to have robust physical access through enhancing the geographical coverage of health services, and fiscal access through extending the fiscal risk protection mechanisms. These are the essential synergistic interventions that should be adopted by the United States to ensure that UHC adoption is a success. In countries where the skilled birth attendance is approximately 100%, such as Thailand, there is a minimal gap in socio-economic status or maternal education. In Thailand, the UHC of maternal-child health services has led to very low child mortality in the rich-poor divide. However, relative inequalities tend to be higher in nations that have a low level of health care usage. In the United States, the Affordable Care Act resulted in improved access to a usual care provider for many Hispanics and African-American, which reduced the chances of one avoiding visiting healthcare facilities due to costs. Progressive attainment of UHC needs a significant increase in public investment. Therefore, the United States will have to do a systemic review of all opportunities under the domains of fiscal space creation.
Most of the people opposing claim that the implementation of the UHC would be too expensive for the American people, especially when they are already paying high taxes. However, it has been noted that the United States spends more per capita on health care as compared to the other Vcountries that have already implemented universal health care. It is, therefore, arguable that the implementation of UHC will help the country save billions of dollars that are usually wasted by Americans to pay for the rising health costs. Through the UHC, the patients are likely to get more doctor visits, and people will receive the proper care that is comparable to what the wealthy Americans receive. Most of opposing people are those corporate leaders in the pharmaceutical sector, healthcare sector, and insurance sector because they believe that UHC will invite undue government involvement in healthcare administration, which will lead to systemic inefficiencies. However, evidence points to the fact that they fear that the government will interfere with the profits they are used to and the free-market that they have maintained to abuse over the years.
UHC is a critical component in attaining the health targets in sustainable development goals and will contribute to attaining the goals. It is, therefore, important for the federal government to invest in the health system by enacting a Universal health care program that will help protect the health of all American people. It is evident that the current managed care cannot help in solving the health care in the United States since the quality of care continues to be compromised because the corporations want to save costs by denying Americans proper health care. UHC is not a socialized system that compromises the ideals and values of American people, but rather, it is a tool that will help in fulfilling the dream of the American constitution, which is to offer general welfare to every American citizen.