If one were to paint the United States as a protagonist in the modern theatre of healthcare, the unfortunate descriptor would be none other than the classic anti-hero. In its might and prosperity, the United States strides across the world stage, yet it appears inexplicably hapless and farcical when viewed in the harsh light of its healthcare system. In this arena, the grandeur of the American narrative loses its sheen as it plays second fiddle to its much less prosperous yet astoundingly more humane counterparts—Canada and the European nations.
The so-called “American Dream” is supposedly predicated on the principle of unbounded opportunity for all. The irony, of course, is that when it comes to affordable healthcare— an essential life necessity—the dream dissipates into an unaffordable nightmare for too many. A system that bolsters private interest over public welfare, it propagates a fundamental inversion of priorities—a grotesque caricature of the ‘survival of the fittest’.
The raison d’etre of this quandary lies in America’s rabid embrace of capitalism. An ethos where profit is king, and where healthcare is seen less as a basic human right and more as a market commodity to be traded, bought, and sold. And thus, you have an overpriced, underperforming healthcare sector where the burden of cost is passed onto the very people it claims to serve.
Comparatively, Canada and Europe approach healthcare from a vastly different philosophical standpoint, resulting in systems that seem to operate in an alternate universe to the United States. Here, healthcare is treated not as a luxury for those who can afford it, but as a fundamental right of every citizen, irrespective of their economic status.
In the Great White North, Canada’s publicly funded health system—known as ‘Medicare’—embodies this commitment to universal healthcare. It is not without its flaws, as no system ever is, but it ensures that no Canadian citizen is denied essential medical care for want of financial resources. This is more than can be said for the United States, where medical bankruptcy, a term unheard of in most developed countries, is distressingly commonplace.
Europe, in its turn, offers us a smorgasbord of healthcare models. From the UK’s National Health Service, providing care free at the point of use, to Germany’s statutory health insurance system where costs are shared between employers and employees—each system varies in the details, but all are united by a commitment to universality and accessibility.
What the United States must learn from these systems is not merely a matter of policy, but of ethos. It must grapple with the moral implications of treating healthcare as a privilege for the wealthy rather than a right for all. The critical difference lies in this—when you prioritize people over profit, you create a healthcare system that heals rather than hurts.
A fundamental shift is needed in the American psyche. An essential paradigm shift from viewing healthcare as a privilege to accepting it as a right. A shift from the market-driven commodification of health to viewing it as a public good, warranting protection and provision from the state.
The problem is by no means an easy one to solve, but the first step towards a solution is recognizing the problem. And the problem, dear reader, is not just a matter of policy but one of principle, of morality. It is about reimagining what we consider to be the rights of a citizen and the responsibilities of a state.
The choice America faces is between two stories—the one it currently tells, of a nation where wealth decides health, or the one it could tell, a story where every citizen, regardless of the size of their wallet, can rest easy