Introduce the topic with background information and define terminology

Outline Template

1. Introduction
   1. Introduce the topic with background information and define terminology
2. Body Paragraph 1 – Technical aspects of your topic
   1. Topic Sentence: Despite our country’s international reputation for excellence in research and development over the last several decades, the United States’ healthcare system is often cited as an example of the low quality and lack of universal coverage in this area.
      1. Supporting detail 1: For the typical resident of the United States, the cost of medical treatment is prohibitively high.
      2. Supporting detail 2: Due to the rising expenses of healthcare, low-income communities must rely on emergency services for the treatment of chronic diseases and preventive care (NCBI – WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic, n.d.).

• Supporting detail 3: In spite of everyone’s best efforts to pay for health care, individuals who don’t splurge for the most comprehensive and pricey plans still may not get the same quality of service as those who do.

• Body Paragraph 2 – Description of public policy debates surrounding your topic
  1. Transition: With each new step forward, we aim for even greater and better results for the United States, with the ultimate goal of achieving universal health care at a cost that is affordable to everyone.
  2. Topic Sentence: Healthcare expenditures in the US are driven by two factors: the quantity of services received by patients and the monetary value placed on those services.
     1. Supporting detail 1: A major factor in the high expenses people confront in many parts of the country is the absence of competition in the health care provider market, particularly in the hospital sector (Fiedler & Young, 2020).
     2. Supporting detail 2: Beneficiaries are hampered in their pursuit of affordable, high-quality medical care by a number of factors, including asymmetric information, employer and government subsidies, market consolidation, and incentive distortions brought about by the existence of insurance(Fiedler & Young, 2020).

• Supporting detail 3: All-or-nothing contracting, in which a healthcare provider demands that an insurer maintain all of its facilities in-network rather than only the high-value ones, is one example of an anticompetitive conduct that may be investigated by state commissions (Fiedler & Young, 2020).

1. Body Paragraph 3 -Arguments
   1. Transition: A large number of people in the United States are forced to choose a government healthcare plan that is very inexpensive but leaves them without the essentials that health insurance should cover. Healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a business opportunity for the federal government or insurance companies.
   2. Topic Sentence: A fundamental right to healthcare might save countless lives every year.
      1. Supporting detail 1: A Harvard study found that “lack of health insurance is related with as many as 44,789 fatalities each year,” which equates to a mortality rate that is 40% higher for the uninsured population. (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).
      2. Supporting detail 2: According to research by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States ranks dead last among 16 wealthy countries when it comes to avoidable death because of inadequate access to quality health care. (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).

• Supporting detail 3:  People in nations where access to medical care is guaranteed, such as Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Israel, and Norway, should expect to live an extra year or more than those in the United States (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).

1. Body Paragraph 4 – Arguments
   1. Transition: Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, there are still numerous obstacles to achieving truly universal healthcare in the United States.
   2. Topic Sentence: As the world’s most prosperous nation, the United States has a moral obligation to provide its inhabitants with excellent medical care.
      1. Supporting detail 1: France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, which have a universal entitlement to health care, have a lower GDP per capita than the U.S. (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).
      2. Supporting detail 2: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that as many as 35 million individuals would be uninsured by the year 2028, up from the current figure of 28.5 million people who lacked health coverage in 2017 (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).

• Supporting detail 3: In 2017, American citizens forked out $10,209 per on medical care, which was 2.5 times the average of OECD nations (Should All Americans Have the Right (Be Entitled) to Health Care?, 2020).

1. Opinion and Conclusion
   1. Transition: The Affordable Treatment Act was a positive development, but more has to be done to reduce the high cost of medical care. For inspiration, the United States may learn from Sweden, which has a well-regarded healthcare system.
   2. Statement of Opinion: With America as prosperous as it is now, and with all the resources we have, I think this is possible. Poorly implemented national health care insurance programs aren’t the answer. As prospective healthcare workers, we are trained to treat everyone equally regardless of their socioeconomic class or demographics. We need to develop a system in the United States that guarantees all hard-working individuals the same level of care and health benefits without compromising on standards.