One study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated in 2009 that as many as 45,000 people died every year because of the lack of health insurance. Uninsured, working-age Americans have 40 percent higher death risk than privately insured counterparts(The Harvard Gazette). With universal healthcare, this number would decrease significantly because everyone would be insured without financial stress on individuals. Take this story from The Huffington Post to validate these claims; Georgeanne Koehler has devoted dozens of hours to telling anyone who would listen about how her brother died. Billy Koehlers died from cardiac arrest after his implanted defibrillator ran out of batteries, is a testament to how someone can perish from lack of access to health care. Some countries have been proactive and have created universal healthcare policies such as Norway who was the first country to enact universal healthcare as a single-payer system in 1912. 16 years lat
er, Japan and New Zealand created a universal healthcare policy leading a new wave of people establishing new healthcare policies. Belgium, Sweden, and North Korea all established some form of a universal healthcare policy from 1945-1955. Universal healthcare has improved the wellbeing of populations and has created more organized society. Right now, 31 out of the 32 developed countries have universal healthcare, the United States being the only one without universal healthcare. From there, once there are enough models of what this healthcare policy could look like, getting the rest of the world on board might be a challenge, but it could help less developed countries develop more, and have more sustainable populations. Some countries have already enacted a universal healthcare movement, but with the rest of the world on board, public health would improve, healthcare spending would decrease, and good health habits could be instilled in children at a young age.