ProCon creates a website for healthcare debate

Sep 24 2009

ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity dedicated to promoting critical thinking, created the new website http://healthcare.procon.org to explore the core question "Should all Americans have the right (be entitled) to health care?"

Health care is the largest industry in the United States, employing more than 14 million people nationwide. U.S. health expenditure totaled $2.2 trillion in 2007, comprising 16.2% of the U.S. economy.

77% of Americans say that they think health care should be a right. Others argue that it is not the government's responsibility to guarantee health coverage for its citizens. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 46.3 million people in the U.S. were uninsured in 2008, although some groups contend that this figure is inflated and misleading due to flawed methodology and the number's inclusion of undocumented immigrants and people who choose not to obtain insurance.

Many Americans say our health care system works well and that reform is not needed; however, according to a 2009 peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Medicine, 62.1% of all U.S. bankruptcies in 2007 were related to medical expenses and 78% of these bankruptcies were filed by people who had medical insurance.

Partisan views in Congress differ on the means through which universal coverage should be achieved, if at all, and a fundamental debate also remains on whether health care should be guaranteed to all Americans.

The site's purpose is to help people think critically so they can make better decisions about whether or not all Americans should have a right to health care. The site contains a "Did You Know?" section, an overview of the issue, over 20 pro and con arguments, an image and video gallery, a reader survey, and a listing of all sources used.