Question: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane” (Martin Luther King, Jr.).
Do you agree with this statement? Write an essay persuading readers of your point of view. Support your argument with evidence from appropriate sources. Nick Vujicic, the founder of Life Without Limbs Organization of Australia, said in his speech,” Attitude is Altitude.”(Nick Vujicic 2012).
The implication is that one individual or even one institution is required to hold a correct and positive attitude towards health care and what is being embarked on or what it will be. This thereby leads to a goal of health and assures a promising future as expected.
This clearly explains there shouldn’t be any injustice in health care since people have the same right to healthcare. However, the real situation is contrary, which I mean the Social inequalities in health status have expanded in recent years (Johan P. Mackenbach et al. 2008).
As a result, the injustice in health care has caused lots of problems; for example, rich people can get a perfect medical treatment while some poor people don’t have enough money to afford health care, they even just choose to wait for death. According to these reasons, wealth inequality and healthcare inequality are not separable. There are also some other different types of inequality such as educational inequality and the inequality of rights for men and women. As for educational inequality, Rousseau—a famous French thinker has said that education is a great tool to realize social justice and if education is fair, the society will be equal. However, because of so many reasons, this dream hasn’t been true.
For example, the regional and urban-rural gap can cause the unfair education (Binh T. Nguyen et al.2007).
In addition to that, some students’ family income is too low to afford their education (Ellen Brantlinger 1985).
Both of these two reasons can influence the equality of education. However to compare with the injustice in health care, the inequality in education is not so serious since the injustice in health care has a connection with people’s life; it can even be one of the most important reasons to explain the injustice in health care. According to the WHO definition of health, it is not only the absence of disease, but also includes complete physical, psychological and social adaption ability (Definitions Of Health/Wellness 1948).
Personal health status can be a point in a 3D space as physiological, psychological and social composition (A Second Life for eHealth: Prospects for the Use of 3-D Virtual Worlds in Clinical Psychology 2008).
The health inequality refers to the diverse health system between the different social economic status of individuals or groups, such as the scholars think that the poor, minorities, women will encounter more health risk and disease inequality that other social groups by the society. In conclusion, the health inequality is the most inhumane form of social inequality. Similarly, the inequality of rights for men and women can also cause some problem. For instance, for thousands of years, because of the discrimination against women, women were ignored by Chinese history; men rule the world while women could not do anything. Moreover, the history of discrimination against women forced them to live in the social environment where there has inequality between men and women.
That obstructs female to success. Fortunately, in recent years, this situation has become better since the condition that family and school just focus on men has relieved. Conversely, the injustice in health care cannot be so easy to figure out. According to the research, the health care is connected with the education level and the level of income (Johan P. Mackenbach et al. 2008).
As for health care, the data researcher collected can show that in the Europe, the people who have gotten less education can have lower life expectancy (Johan P. Mackenbach et al. 2008).
It is clearly that if we want to figure out the injustice in health care, we have to solve the education problems. Additionally, the inequality between men and women can also influence the health care to be unfair. By that I mean in the past years, the family and the Chinese government thought highly of men; consequently, they could enjoy better medical assistance while the women could not (Chinese Women 2004).
Obviously, it caused an inequality situation in health care. Therefore, the progress to figure out the injustice in health care will be much arduous than any other inequality solution since we have to solve the caused problems first. Even though, there has too much injustice in health care, the Chinese government has laid down some health care systems. For instance, there has a health care system which is called Public Medical Care. A villager who is at the age of sixty-eight has said: “In the past, I had to see village doctors and pay all the medical fees if I got ill.
But now both the county and the village have new clinics with expenses partially covered by the government. It’s a good thing indeed.”(China’s medical care system leaps forward 2011).
According to this people’s statement, we can know that the injustice is health care has been focused on more by the Chinese government. Fundamentally, this kind of health care system includes 1.26 billion inhabitants, and almost 90 percent of populace helps the country to improve the medical services (China’s medical care system leaps forward 2011).
Moreover, there also has a health care system in America which is called Medicare; it also has Mefigap policies to help it work. Before this health care system set up, most of American workers can have their individual medical service that can make it easier for them to see the doctors; however, this system has changed this situation.
It allows people to explore the medical services if they need help. In addition to that, this policy also includes Health Maintenance Organizations which can reduce the prime cost (Ben Irvine 2002).
Although there have health care system such as Public Medical Care to improve the injustice in health care, this situation is still severe. If we don’t pay attention to that, it will become more dangerous than present. Because it connects with people’s health, it involves the life of the whole word people. Additionally, if the government or the world causes the inequality health, they have no responsibility for all people or they don’t put a correct attitude towards equality health. Everyone in the world has the same right to receive the same medical services. There shouldn’t have any differences in different countries or people. In regards to health, all people are equal to each other.