Blog #2 Healthcare Access: Right or Privilege?

After reading the question, “Do you believe that access to healthcare is a right or a privilege?” I found myself unsure as to which side I was for. The question seems simple to answer and I was sure that I knew the answer right away. After further consideration I decided to first define “right” and “privilege”. According to American Heritage Dictionary, a right is defined as, “That which is just, morally good, legal, proper, or fitting” and privilege as, “a right or advantage gained by birth, social position, effort, or concession.”

I agree that free healthcare access should be a right and a privilege. It should be a right in the sense that you are born with the right to the healthcare access. Children should have the right because they are not asked to born into a certain type of family, so they should be given an opportunity to add to society. However, once they turn 18 they must now attend college or work somewhere in order to continue receiving health benefits. By doing this people would be contributing to society, thus making a better economy and country in my opinion. If you fail to maintain a job or attend school then your healthcare access will be taken away. As for people already over 18, they should maintain a job as well. Of course, there would be certain stipulations, such as if you were born with a handicap, extreme disease or disorder, etc. disabling them from working or attending college. I also would like to keep the Medicare for adults over 65 years of age. I do not think that healthcare should be based on income because not all people have the means to certain jobs. I know that this may seem harsh but I feel everyone should do their part.

Canada has a great program where everyone can receive a healthcare card. I believe that this program has many benefits but also comes with problems. Doctors from Canada end up coming to the states because they make more money and there is longer wait for doctors, MRI’s, Ct scans. Because of these reasons I feel that if everyone has a right to healthcare access in the states that we will soon see the same problems.

References:

Right. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Retrieved January 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Right

Privilege. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Retrieved January 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/privilege

Blog #1: Health Issue concerns for me

Health Issues that concern me include:

• Obesity: As a Hispanic women this is the most important concern of mine, since women in my family battle overweight and obesity. Many women and men have trouble with obesity. According to the CDC over 60 million people are obese. (CDC Website) When I graduated high school I gained almost 50 pounds. I was already a little overweight but this put me at a high risk of having serious health problems. With determination and hard work I lost 63 pounds in a year and a half. Not only has my quality of life improved physically but emotionally I feel like a better person. I feel better about myself and gained loads of confidence on many different levels.
  
• Stress Management: Students already have enough to deal with having deadlines and school work to worry about. I also work full time and just a baby. My time and stress levels are all over the place. I find it hard to have time for myself. Because of this my stress causes many problems. Stress can influence a number of health issues.
  
• Lupus: Both my mother and my grandmother suffer from Lupus. Since this health issue has been linked to genetic factors I am very concerned with this problem.
  

Health issues that concern other women:

1. April Palomino, Age 22 (Caucasian): April is most concerned with the issue of health insurance. She is currently in graduate school and cannot hold a full time job. Since she is married she cannot not be on her parents insurance . In order to have medical insurance she has to pay outrageous monthly payments. The part time job that she has onyl pays for her insurance every month. She is upset that all her money goes to one place, even though it's for a good reason.
2. Catherine Salguero, Age 28 (Hispanic): Catherine's health concerns included obesity and anemia. She is currently overweight and is afraid of becoming obese. She claims that she is constantly stressing over what she is eating, which can cause other health problems. Anemia is a concern of hers because her mother struggles with anemia. Because Catherine is anemic she cannot give blood as frequently as she would like. Furthermore, she is tired through most of the day even thorugh she has had ample sleep the night before. Anemia can cause other issues such as vision problems.
   

References:

Unknown Author. (2006). Overweight and Obesity: Home. Retrieved January 17, 2007, from
CDC Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm