Sofia Blandon

Professor McIntosh

Writing For the Humanities D

12 April 2020

Equal healthcare: Something We All Deserve

Healthcare is the organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community. Healthcare is important because you cannot have a productive society or a good economy without healthy constituents. For many years it has been seen that while there are a few opportunities to access healthcare, they are not entirely inclusive, meaning not equal to all. There are however people who believe that equal healthcare does exist in the United States, and that the current system does not need to be revised. This is demonstrated in the article, “Why the EMTALA Mandate for Emergency Care Does not Equal Coverage” in which author Nicolas T. Sawyer, an emergency medicine specialist, evaluates those ideas and explains how they are wrong. Through the use of logic and evidence, Sawyer efficiently critiques the ideas of Republicans, as he argues that the EMTALA act does not qualify as equal healthcare and believes changes should be made to allow for less suffering among those who have no access to or cannot afford healthcare. Corresponding to Sawyer, a universal healthcare system should be put in place as it would help many minority communities, as well as people who need continuous medical care, however the current government refuses to find a solution to this issue.

In the article, “Why the EMTALA Mandate for Emergency Does not Equal Coverage” author Nicolas T. Sawyer utilizes different examples to show that the Republicans view of equal

healthcare being in place is false. In the beginning of the article Sawyer displays a conversation between a Republican representative and a reporter, where the representative said that there is a law in place that allows for everyone to be seen in a hospital and that constitutes coverage for all. Sawyer disproves the counter argument by engaging with it, and clarifies that while the Republican is not wrong in the aspect of there being a law in place that allows for people to be seen in a hospital, he is wrong in saying that everyone is covered because in reality they are not. Sawyer then begins to break down the EMTALA act, to show that while you can receive help in emergency situations, that is all. Sawyer goes on to say that the act only requires hospitals to participate, meaning that preventive and rehabilitative care are not included, and therefore if you need to be seen for further help after an emergency or want to try and prevent an emergency, these are not covered. He also mentions that people who come in seeking help, but do not have health insurance will still be billed an insane amount of money, further proving that there is no real “coverage” under this act, passed in 1986. Being that Sawyer is an emergency physician it builds his credibility, as he has seen these things happen himself. The breakdown of what the act actually does is a good way for readers to understand what this means for healthcare overall, and how Republicans are trying to sweep the issue under the rug. Being able to understand the human consequences also creates the reader’s sympathy. Sawyer also uses statistical data, obtained from the Congressional Budget Office, to further prove his argument and show that under the obama care act, which opened up many new opportunities, the amount of people who were uninsured in the United States dropped from 45 million to 28 million. Sawyer also mentions that if the current healthcare system remains, then the number of uninsured Americans will increase. Using statistical data, once again, to prove his argument Sawyer stated that by 2026 the amount of uninsured Americans will increase by 24 million. Instead of just stating that

many Americans will continue to suffer in the coming years, Sawyer uses data from the Congressional Budget Office, to provide concrete evidence of how this idea is true. This enables readers to understand that these numbers are real and not made up. This further strengthens Sawyer’s overall argument: being that the act does not constitute full coverage for all and changes should be made within the current healthcare system to accommodate everyone, regardless of economic status and race to prevent devastating outcomes.

On top of using statistical data, Sawyer also uses a critical tone that directs his argument towards his targeted audience, Republicans. Sawyer is also writing to people who need clarification about this mandate and what it means for healthcare. In the last paragraph of the article Sawyer relates back to the Republicans mentioned in the beginning, and explains that while they were correct about the mandate requiring that everyone receives care in a hospital, they failed to mention that treatment of conditions not considered an emergency will not be covered, and therefore does not allow equal access for all. Instead of outwardly bashing the Republican party, Sawyer remains professional and simply explains how they are wrong and uses his own experiences in the emergency field, as well as statistical data, to back up his argument. Any Republican reading this article will be able to see how silly they sound when they advocate for the idea that this act is considered equal coverage for all. Similarly, any American reading this article will also be able to see how silly Republicans sound, but also have a better understanding of the EMTALA act and hopefully spread the message that equal healthcare is something that we all deserve and need to work towards creating. The argument Sawyer makes is persuasive and readers can clearly understand why and how the EMTALA act is not equivalent to equal healthcare, as there are still many uninsured Americans who are not receiving care, or

who are but then going into debt because of the medical bills. Mentioning the fact that these Americans are essentially going into debt because of medical care costs, shows Sawyer’s concerns for these people who are at a disadvantage. Even though Sawyer does not go into detail about who these disadvantaged people are, it is known that minority groups suffer greatly compared to the wealthy class individuals. Evidently, in the report “Inequality and the health-care system in the USA”, composed by Samuel L Dickman, David U Himmelstein, and Steffie Woolhandler, statistical information is provided regarding the disparities between minorities and non-minorities stating, “In 2013, median family wealth for the non-Hispanic white population was ten times that of Hispanics and more than 12 times that of African-Americans.” Though this study was conducted seven years ago, the information found remains relevant, and gives insight on why minorities struggle more with obtaining access to healthcare than people of a wealthier class do. The report also mentions, “The uninsured are far more likely than the insured to forgo needed medical visits, tests, treatments, and medications because of cost.” This demonstrates the disappointing reality that the people who need medical care the most are the people who are not able to receive it because they cannot afford to do so. Going back to Sawyer’s argument, these people will become even more disadvantaged if the current healthcare system remains in place, and as he proclaims, “And, in the long run, care for these people will be more expensive to society, when we treat only the emergency when the disease is far advanced.” It is also important to note that wealthy Republicans are not looking into this issue more because it does not pertain to them, as they can pay for health insurance and medical costs with no problem. This contributes to their lack of action and not wanting to revise the current healthcare system.

What could have made the article a little more successful was to highlight why universal healthcare is not currently implemented in the United States as well as the negative implications, to show readers that he understands healthcare is important but can have some drawbacks, like having to increase taxes. Consequently, in the article “3 Reasons the U.S. Doesn’t Have Universal Coverage” written for U.S. News by Timothy Callaghan, he explains that there is no universal healthcare currently in place because the current government believes in a society that utilizes little government help, especially for something like healthcare. He also mentions that interest groups are already preparing how to combat an implementation of universal coverage, as to ensure that private insurers can continue to make a profit. Lastly, Callaghan states, “… and our institutions are designed in a manner that limits major social policy changes from happening.” Even though these ideas were not mentioned, the article is still successful in clarifying the EMTALA act and helping readers understand why universal coverage is needed, as it would be helpful to many uninsured Americans.

Equal healthcare has been a highly debated topic for many years, and candidates who were running for the 2020 election made sure to bring this up and share how they would plan to achieve universal healthcare. Candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in particular feel strongly about creating a plan that is inclusive for all and contains real coverage. For example in an article written for Vox by Sarah Kliff she communicates that Sanders’ plan will, “… not subject consumers to any out-of-pocket spending on health aside from prescription drugs. This means there would be no charge when you go to the doctor, no copayments when you visit the emergency room.” This demonstrates how Sanders wants to help those who are at a disadvantage because of high costs, showing that he wants to create a real solution to this

problem, as opposed to the current government that is trying to repeal the ACA act and does not want to actively help those Americans who are suffering. As mentioned before, there are negative implications that people can argue about universal healthcare, however there are ways to work around them. One such negative implication would be the idea of increasing taxes, however Sanders as well as Elizabeth Warren planned to combat this issue by holding large corporations accountable for not paying taxes, and thereby forcing them to comply with paying taxes, which would in turn fund healthcare opportunities. Universal Healthcare is not an absurd vision, even countries who are less developed than the United States have implemented some sort of universal healthcare plan. Evidently, in the article “Universal Healthcare” written by Linda Dynan, she explains how other countries like Canada, Costa Rica, and Western Europe have achieved universal health care, describing the ideas of private health insurance plans as well as social health insurance plans. Both plans seem to be working well, as these countries do not have people who are in debt because of raging medical bills or people who are not able to obtain forms of health care. This demonstrates that universal healthcare is possible, so long as the government wants to work with their people in creating a plan that works for everyone. Relating back to Sawyer’s argument, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have a similar idea of how universal healthcare is not currently implemented, and should be to help many uninsured Americans in need. It is clear to see that Sawyer, Sanders and Warren are all on the same page about the importance of the issue of universal healthcare, and want to see a change created that would help those people who are simply wanting to receive medical attention, without having to worry about an immense debt.

Through his critical tone and use of both pathos and logos, Sawyer’s article does a good job of demonstrating his overall argument, being that there is no universal healthcare system currently in place, and there should be because it would help many Americans, specifically minorities, obtain access to medical care. This issue is extremely important in today’s society as we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and people are constantly getting sick and need treatment. Moving forward, Americans, as well as the current government, should understand that a universal healthcare system would benefit everyone in the end, and in the age of coronavirus, would allow for more people to be tested and receive care.

Reflection

Creating a thesis statement took quite some time for me to figure out, I spent about a week doing research on my topic before I actually formulated my statement. I wanted to create a thesis that tied everything I wanted to talk about in my paper, but that was also brief so as to not

give away too much information. After reading through a few articles on different websites and a few scholarly articles from the city college databases, I realized that three things kept popping up. The idea that the current government is not looking towards a solution, the fact that minorities are struggling the most, and that people are becoming increasingly ill, especially amid the pandemic, and are not being treated. These three points are things that I wanted to make sure I highlighted in my paper, and therefore would become the basis of my thesis. Also, after receiving feedback I needed to tweak the thesis again so that it connected back to the overall text I was using for my paper.

Finding information about equal healthcare was not hard, however filtering through that information was a tad tedious as I wanted to make sure I found sources that would support my argument and not just simply state information about the topic. Looking for articles on the databases specifically can be hard because when you put in a keyword, a bunch of articles with that word pop up and then you need to read through them and see which ones connect to what you are writing about. However, the two articles I found through the databases, one being the basis of my paper, turned out to be quite relevant and informational which helped me in backing up my argument. Popular media sources are easier to filter out, and the ones that I chose to use are from websites like Vox, which is well known and a liberal leaning publication so it contains information that would pertain to the argument I was making. I also decided to use an article to back up the counterargument I introduced about equal healthcare, which I felt would make Sawyer’s article that much stronger. I chose to use the article “3 Reasons the U.S. Doesn’t Have Universal Health Coverage.” because it gave reasons as to why the United States does not currently have a universal healthcare in place and mentioning these could have made his article stronger, as he then could have introduced ways to work around these reasons. There were a few

articles that I decided to discard entirely, not because they were bad but because they just did not fit into my paper as well as the others.

I think when analyzing my text at first I was hesitant to use it, because I was afraid that it would not support my argument enough. However, after further research on the topic itself, I realized that the text does support my argument and it shows how the current government is providing false information to Americans and is also not on board with helping these Americans obtain affordable and inclusive healthcare opportunities. The sources that I used, in addition to the text I chose, contributed to my argument in that they each provide insight on how universal healthcare is achievable, it is needed, especially among low income communities and minorities, and how important it is that we come together and find a way to make this happen.

Works Cited

Callaghan, Timothy. “3 Reasons the U.S. Doesn’t Have Universal Health Coverage.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2016-10-26/3-reasons-the-us-doesnt-have-universal-health-coverage.

Dickman, Samuel L, et al. Inequality and the Health-Care System in the USA. www.rootcausecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Inequality-and-the-health-care-system-in-the-USA.pdf.

Dynan, Linda. “Universal Healthcare.” Encyclopedia of World Poverty, edited by M. Odekon, vol. 3, SAGE Reference, 2006, pp. 1118-1120. Gale eBooks, https://link-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/CX3469800744/GVRL?u=cuny_ccny&sid=GVRL xid=2dee7ff4. Accessed 15 Apr. 2020.

Kliff, Sarah. “Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-All Plan, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 10 Apr. 2019, www.vox.com/2019/4/10/18304448/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all.

Sawyer, Nicolas T. “Why the EMTALA Mandate for Emergency Care Does not Equal Healthcare “Coverage”.” The western journal of emergency medicine vol. 18,4 (2017): 551-552. doi:10.5811/westjem.2017.5.34826