By: Aly Buente alybuente.weebly.com

I don’t want to be a burden, God. I certainly don’t want pity. But I can no longer do it all alone. Help me, God. Teach me not to be afraid to rely upon others. Show me how to accept kindness, how to ask for help. I still have so much to offer, God. Help me find the ways to transmit my wisdom, to share my love, to realize my talents, to offer my reassurance and support. Most of all, I place my trust in You, God; I place my body and soul in Your hands, and pray that You will be with me. Amen.

Defend the Bishops argument for universal health insurance and propose how limiting health care to individuals in need is socially unjust.

 Refers to a health care system which provides health care and financial protection to all its citizens.  It is organized around providing a specified package of benefits to all members of a society with the end goal of providing financial risk protection, improved access to health services, and improved health outcomes.  Universal health care can be determined by three critical dimensions: who is covered, what services are covered, and how much of the cost is covered.

 Most current universal health care systems were implemented in the period following the Second World War as a process of health care reform, intended to make health care available to all, in the spirit of Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, signed by every country doing so. However, the USA did not ratify the social and economic rights sections, including Article 25's right to health

 Extending care: Universal health care extends care to anyone, regardless of social status or bank account. Countries that have a universal health care system in place have a longer lifespan. Canadians have a three-percent higher lifespan than Americans, according to United North America.  Reducing medical costs: Currently, privatized health care costs are incredibly inflated. Without the government regulating health care costs, hospital fees and insurance premiums, those who set costs in the health care sector basically have free run over the system. A universal health care system would be regulated by the government, so costs overall would be reduced with a more monitored system to reduce inflated costs for tests, hospital stays and procedures.  Existing Working Models: One of the biggest pros for a universal health care system is that working models exist. Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Taiwan all have successful government-run insurance or health care for all lawful residents. While none of those places are as populated as the United States, they serve as effective models for a universal health care system and how it can work for an entire nation.

 Raised taxes: Although universal health care is often touted as "free," it is typically government-run. Taxes would need to be raised to accommodate for universal health care, and many Americans could be adverse to their taxed earnings paying for the health care of someone who doesn't work at all.  No competition: In Canada and England, health care workers are considered employees of the government rather than private health care workers. This means that each surgeon, family practitioner and nurse is paid through the government, and their salaries are regulated by the government. This means that the competition for patients that spurs health care workers to become better at their occupations and specialties is gone. This could mean a reduction of those willing to go into the medical profession overall. You also won't be able to choose the best doctor simply by looking at her successes and patient base.  Longer wait times: When health care is extended to everyone, it can be used too often. And with "free" access, a patient may go to the emergency room with the sniffles, causing longer wait times for those who have real emergencies. Access to family doctors and specialists may also be limited due to too many patients and not enough doctors.

 The United States is the only industrialized country in the world without a universal health insurance system.  In 2006, the U.S. census reported that 46 million Americans (recently revised downward to 45 million) have no health insurance.  Over a third (36%) of families living below the poverty line are uninsured. Hispanic Americans (34%) are more than twice as likely to be uninsured as white Americans, (13%) while 21% of black Americans have no health insurance.

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 The U.S. bishops—individually, in one of their committees, or as an entire conference—frequently commit themselves to some specific political policy. Of all the questions that can be raised about such forays into legislative advocacy, the most important is this: Where is the line between moral principles, which the bishops must enunciate clearly and forcefully, and public policy, which the bishops have neither the charism nor the competence to formulate?  The problem of health care is an excellent case in point. It enables us to see fairly easily both a legitimate moral concern and the dangers of addressing that concern in a particular way. The support of the bishops for expanded health care has a long pedigree, but their specific support for federal health care under the current administration began in May with Bishop William Murphy’s letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The letter was not a statement by the entire episcopal conference, but was issued by Bishop Murphy as chairman of the Domestic Justice and Human Development Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In it, he endorsed comprehensive health care for every inhabitant of the United States (including illegal immigrants).

 How is limiting health insurance to individuals considered socially unjust?  What do you think the health care reform is?  Are there additional fees and taxes employers need to watch and manage?