Topic:
Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Sreejay Ramakrishnan
World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
The United States of America
Sreejay Ramakrishnan
Every single person on this planet should have access to medical resources in order to survive and thrive in life. Though, with expensive healthcare, high patient costs, and a lack of programs to help with this issue, access to medical resources needs to improve worldwide. Around 400 million people worldwide lack access to essential health care, and even those that do have access or insurance suffer from the high costs, thus forcing them into poverty. According to the WHO, around 800 million people are spending at least 10% of their household incomes on healthcare for themselves or family members. Each country is impacted by this issue in different ways, which proves essential to form a common ground and tackle this issue as a United Nations. This is most dominant in low-income areas, including countries in Latin America, East Asia, and especially in South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO has taken responsibility for the International Classification of Diseases, which is the international standard for defining and reporting diseases and health conditions. Additionally, the UN has created a “Universal Health Coverage Day” to urge countries to invest in achieving affordable healthcare access worldwide. The UN also has taken part in Sustainable Development GOALS which aim to increase medical access to all and improve life. The United States does not have universal healthcare, though aims to improve healthcare access to all.
The United States has programs in place including Medicare for adults over 65 and some with disabilities, programs for veterans and low-income people including Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Affordable Care Act has brought the uninsured rate of Americans from 16% in 2010 to around 8.5% currently. The Affordable Care Act Of 2010 required most Americans to obtain health insurance, extend coverage for Young People by allowing them to remain on parents as private plans until age 26, open health insurance marketplaces and exchanges which offer premium subsidies to lower and middle-income individuals, and expand Medicaid Eligibility with the help of federal subsidies (in states that decide to go with this option). The ACA resulted in around 20 million Americans gaining coverage for healthcare while reducing the number of uninsured adults significantly. Another essential task that the US government has taken to improve medical resources access is the regulation of private companies pharmaceutical companies and hospitals to ensure equal access. The United States has a mix of both private and public insurance and healthcare. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works with the WHO to ensure the shaping of health research agendas, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and analyzing health trends.
The United States of America hopes to work with many nations in the United Nations in order to ensure equal and abundant access to medical resources for people worldwide. U.S. government (U.S.) global health efforts aim to help improve the health of people in low- and middle-income countries while also contributing to broader U.S. global development goals, foreign policy priorities, and national security concerns. The United States is also one of the largest funders and implementing partners for global health programs worldwide. Additionally, the United States’ global health funding came to about $12.2 billion in 2022. We urge nations in the United Nations to participate and work with the United States to improve life and healthcare for everyone on our beautiful planet.
