The Increases: Public Health and Entrepreneurship
PUBLIC HEALTH
A Right to healthcare could improve public health. According to another study taken by Lancet that looked at data from over 100 countries, “ evidence suggest that broader health coverage generally leads to better access to necessary care and improved population health, particularly for poor people.” (1) In the US, people are up to 33% less likely to have a regular doctor, 25% are more likely to have unmet health needs, and over 50% more likely to not obtain needed medicines compared to their Canadian counterparts whom in fact, do have universal rights to healthcare. (2) In 2008, the Annals of Internal Medicine, there were roughly 11.5 million uninsured working-age Americans with terrible chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Due to the fact that they did not have easy access to healthcare their conditions would get worse and they would ultimately die. (3)
ENTREPRENUERSHIP
A right to healthcare could also ecourage entrepreneurship. Often times many people are afraid to start their own businesses over the fear of losing the health insurance that is currently provided for them at their existing job. For example, Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entreprenuership Public Policy estimated that around 33% increase in new US business may result from an increased access to health insurance through Obamacare health insurance exchanges. (4). A 2001 study showed that when a country provides universal healthcare it could increase self-employment by 2 to 3.5 percent.
1. Rodrigo Moreno-Serra and Peter C Smith, "Does Progress Towards Universal Health Coverage Improve Population Health," The Lancet, Sep. 7, 2012
2.Karen E. Lasser, MD, MPH, David U. Himmelstein, MD, and Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH, "Access to Care, Health Status, and Health Disparities in the United States and Canada: Results of a Cross-National Population-Based Survey," American Journal of Public Health, July 2006
3.Andrew P. Wilper, and Steffie Woolhandler, et. al, "A National Study of Chronic Disease Prevalence and Access to Care in Unisured US Adults," Annals of Internal Medicine, Aug. 2008
4. Emily Maltby and Angus Loten, "Will Health-Care Law Beget Entrepreneurs?," wsj.com, May 8, 2013
5.
