In 2026, healthcare is seen as a privilege, rather than a basic human right while living in the United States.
In a nation that pledges “liberty and justice for all,” there is a massive shortcoming when it comes to carrying out that promise — protecting the right to basic care of the body. Holding stock in high-tech companies and making six figures shouldn’t be requirements to comfortably request an ambulance ride.
A study by Harvard Medical School found that, in the United States, approximately 45,000 deaths of working-age people each year are linked to their lack of health insurance.
And it’s not just because they are refused medicine they can’t afford. The high costs of receiving basic care lead patients to delay necessary appointments and skip treatments, at the heavy cost of their health.
This problem isn’t rooted in individual neglect. It’s in the widespread acceptance of a system that doesn’t prioritize help.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), roughly 1 million adults in the United States reported having medical debt, with some estimates saying up to 100 million Americans are paying off medical debt.
This is worsened by the fact that people who are experiencing medical debt often deal with financial instability, struggling to pay for rent, mortgage and utilities.
The U.S. is the only developed country without universal healthcare.
To be fair, Medicaid and Medicare at least provide healthcare for the low-income and elderly while people with disabilities or specific conditions also qualify.
Legal immigrants who are eligible for these programs, however, face a five-year waiting period before receiving actual care.
While Medicaid and Medicare cover doctor visits, hospital stays and long-term care, the cost of all other treatments are left to the individual. This is also due to the fact that coverage varies significantly by state.
Further expansions of healthcare include the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, which was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2010. Unlike other systems that replace private plans, the Affordable Care Act relied on a mixed system of private insurance and government financial aid to move closer to universal coverage.
Additionally, its Lifetime Limit ensures that insurers cannot set a dollar limit on the amount that the person will spend on essential health care benefits.
But this expansion of medical aid wasn’t something that all Americans loved. Intense political polarization over the government’s role in healthcare and increased spending resulted in extreme limitations placed on Obamacare at the hands of Republican legislators.
It seems like we are living in a country that rejects any idea of helping all American citizens. That’s not a partisan problem, but a human one. And as long as our country refuses to help its struggling population, Americans will continue to suffer.
