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Do They Healthcare About Us?

Lawrence Washington

MGT 282

Ms. Stark

November 21, 2011

There are many ethical issues surrounding the American healthcare industry.

Health care insurance is meant to provide adequate financial service to support a

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person’s medical needs. In some instances these needs are not always met by

insurance providers. For instance, a working class citizen with a standard HMO policy

could be denied assistance upon diagnosis of a terminal illness such as cancer. There

are cases where patient’s contract illnesses such as HIV and are refused assistance to

cover costs of necessary medication.

Often times, American citizens are refused coverage due to prior issues in their

medical histories. The healthcare industry is run by corporate businesses that follow

legal standards and obligations. However, is the healthcare industry neglecting their

ethical responsibility to help American citizens through proper healthcare and insurance

coverage? After all, the law states that American citizens have a right to life, liberty, and

the pursuit of happiness. The United States is divided on the issue of fixing the

healthcare system already in place. Middle and lower middle class citizens are

desperately asking lawmakers to find a solution to fix our flawed system. Upper middle

class and wealthy citizens are reluctant to change the industry we have in place. The

question is shouldn’t there be equal care for all citizens regardless of financial status?

Healthcare is a right that all citizens should have. It’s not just about everyone

having insurance coverage. The issue at hand is finding a way to insure that everyone

is afforded an opportunity to have quality healthcare. The healthcare industry is

designed to only care for a few instead of everyone in the United States. Insurance

Companies need to be held accountable for poor ethical practices in a system that

allows corporate America to operate above the law. In turn the American government

should be able to regulate practices in the healthcare industry to ensure its citizens are

receiving adequate care.

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There are a few alternatives to adjust the healthcare industry. The United States

government could establish a governing board to oversee the healthcare industry. This

board would operate separately from the SEC that acts as a governing body over all

other businesses. Responsibilities would include reviewing regulations and codes of

ethics for each organization. Also, this board would have the power to impose sanctions

against offending organizations in the interest of protecting all stakeholders.

A second alternative is to have congressional leaders work toward passing a

healthcare reform bill that will ultimately lead to providing all Americans with proper

healthcare insurance and medical services. This bill will reshape the current system in

place. The government will control costs of insurance policies, expand coverage, and

overall improve the healthcare delivery system.

All alternatives have the same advantages if implemented properly. By having

the government regulate the industry slowly Americans will have a system in place that

provides quality service across the board. Having a board with the ability to place stiffer

penalties on businesses gives the government additional revenue to add to an already

stretched budget. Healthcare insurance will be more affordable, which is a big benefit to

middle class citizens which represent the majority population in the United States. There

will be more accessibility to reach care providers. Most of all citizens that don’t have

insurance will be able to attain coverage. Perhaps the days of horror stories at county

hospitals will be a thing of the past. Disadvantages include getting a reform bill passed

through congressional leadership. Most Americans share an opinion that republican The

reality of this situation is that there will be a major divide in the agendas of both parties.

Getting an agreement done to reform the healthcare industry could be difficult. Also, it

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will be difficult to find necessary funding in the federal government to properly regulate

the healthcare industry. Budget cuts would be vital in other areas to make this bill pass

into law. Insurance companies stand to lose lots of money in the process. By the

government regulating the healthcare system, competition between companies may be

lost.

The logical choice is to propose a healthcare reform bill to completely change the

system that is currently in place. After much deliberation congressional leaders will

come to an agreement that will benefit all American citizens. Budget cuts will be made

in other federal departments. Also, there will be a raise in federal taxes to help fund

costs of this program. Even though an additional tax will be imposed on citizens, costs

of healthcare will be drastically reduced if not eliminated ultimately.

The Healthcare reform bill has been passed into law and taken effect. As with

many things change takes time. The government has put a system in place with many

flaws. There is backlash from citizens that feel their tax dollars are supporting

Americans that do not work and pay taxes. People are also unhappy that they are

unable to choose their healthcare coverage. However, the new system in place provides

a low cost high quality service to all Americans. Even though Healthcare has kinks,

these issues will be worked out over time as circumstances change.

By breaking down the problem solving process step by step, I was able to

understand the task at hand, and identify pros and cons to possible solutions. Using the

five step problem solving process allowed me to organize all my data and make a sound

decision. While conducting research I was shocked to learn that the percentage of

uninsured Americans has rose to 16.3%. This figure shows just how many Americans

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are being neglected in our country. Adequate healthcare is a right that all Americans are

entitled to. The system currently in place is unethical and neglects the needs of working

class citizens. Universal healthcare is essential and ultimately will happen in the future.

Unfortunately there are too many political roadblocks at this time preventing change

from commencing.

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Works Cited

Gengler, Amanda. "Solving Your Toughest Health Care Challenges." Money 39.5

(2010): 90-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Hannigan, Norma Stephens. "Blowing The Whistle On Healthcare Fraud: Should I?."

Journal Of The American Academy Of Nurse Practitioners 18.11 (2006): 512-

517. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Parker, Barbara. "Affordable Health Care Uninsured Young Adults." World Future

Review 2.5 (2010): 32-39. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Sorrell, Jeanne Merkle. "Ethics: Ethics In Healthcare Organizations: Struggling With

New Questions." Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing 13.3 (2008): 5. Academic

Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Whitehouse. Whitehouse.gov/healthreform. 20 November 2011.