The Cost of Staying Alive: Healthcare in America

[Abstract] In America today, many go without proper healthcare treatment due to rising healthcare costs. In this essay, I argue that corporate America and the politicians they own are not only igniting rising healthcare costs but are also reaping the benefits, at the literal expense of American lives. In today’s political realm, the topic of healthcare comes up often with different perspectives. However, oftentimes a whole story is not told with regards to cost, who’s affected, and solutions that could be used to work on solving this crisis in America. In this paper, I argue that the costs of healthcare are too high due to administrative costs, costs of pharmaceuticals, and the corruption that exists on the federal level which allows both of these issues to plague America. In order to remedy these issues, I argue for a single-payer healthcare system. This system would work to decrease healthcare costs, provide coverage for more Americans, and save the American Government money in the long-run. While most critique this idea to solve the health crisis in America, stating it will be too expensive and offer little change. However, these have been unfounded in both studies and cases that have single-payer systems around the world. In this essay, I often reference Canada not only due to their close proximity but because they used to face these same healthcare issues America faced in the 1960’s. This paper hopes to better explain the rising costs of healthcare, how they affect Americans, and why it is so important we deal with the issue before costs become too high