BLOG#2 (Chapter 2, Module 2)

• Do you believe that access to healthcare is a right or a privilege?
  
  I believe that access to healthcare is a right, but realistically it seems to be a privilege because the majority of Americans cannot afford healthcare. In the article “ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE: A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE”, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa states, “Something is wrong when 45 million Americans – eight out of 10 of them in working families – can’t afford even basic health insurance.” The majority of the less fortunate that are uninsured are minorities, which is the same population that is affected by healthcares diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. Due to America’s, despite our abundance of resources, inability to provide basic healthcare, Senator Tom Harkin reports there is an “overuse of emergency rooms, treatment of chronic conditions, and uncompensated care cost U.S. taxpayers billions each year. In addition, access to health care coverage saves money in the long run”. Since it is a proven fact that preventive healthcare saves money and access to healthcare is a right, not a privilege, why then, are there still millions of Americans that do not have access to basic healthcare? I have met many young pregnant women who did not receive prenatal care because they could not afford it and as a consequence they have sickly children that are constantly in and out of the emergency room, thus increasing our already inflated taxes.
  
  HEALTHCARE ACCESS: A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE by Senator Tom Harkin
  
  Source
  Harkin, Senator Tom. (2005). Column. HEALTH CARE ACCESS: A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE. Retrieved January 20, 2007, from http://harkin.senate.gov/column.cfm?id=236988