The right to a healthy life “Socialized medicine”. The term sends shivers into the American population. For some this brings great joy. They see a world where they can visit a doctor and get the medicine they need at little to no cost. Others, however, see a world of rationed care and long waits for procedures. “Socialism” is the annoying term. It is deeply ingrained in the American psyche, conjuring images of the Russian Revolution and George Orwell's Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the animals experience a very oppressive leader and represents the cruelty of Stalin's regime. Some wonder where they might fall in Orwell's hierarchy of animals. In the current healthcare system “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. (Orwell) America is built on the assumption that “all men are created equal,” but there is a heated debate about what equal access to healthcare should look like. Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right that provides economic benefits and helps create a more just and equitable society. Access to healthcare provides financial stability by ensuring people will not be financially destroyed by injury or illness. Additionally, when people can afford regular medical care, they tend to avoid chronic problems and financial stress. In a study provided by the American Medical Students Association, researchers examined the costs and benefits of universal health care. They concluded, after reviewing other articles and statistics from multiple sources, that “the annual cost of the worsening health and shorter lifespans of uninsured Americans is $65-130 billion.” (Chua 5) This comes from people not having adequate healthcare and then losing their jobs because… middle of paper… we were told there was no incentive to keep costs down. Medical costs have increased and with them so has insurance. This has left a growing number of people without access to healthcare. “44 million Americans are uninsured and of these eight out of ten are workers or their dependents” (Glied). This is fundamentally unfair to large numbers of people, many of them children or the elderly. The facts support the conclusion that the way health care is distributed in this country is flawed. It causes us to lose money, productivity, and unfairly leaves too many people fighting for what Thomas Jefferson believed was fundamental. Among industrialized countries, America holds the unique position of not having any form of universal healthcare. This should lead Americans to ask why the health of its citizens is “less equal” than that of a European.