to Americans

the National Institute of Health in 2020, establishing a system of universal health care in the United States is not only economically practical but may be less expensive than the singlepayer system we currently have in place. Providing citizens with affordable health care is something that many countries have already instituted, and the United States continues to lag behind by not implementing such a system.

A major reason that the United States has not yet adopted universal health care is political pressure and the insurance and pharmaceutical lobby. The Republicans in the U.S. Congress mainly oppose a nationalized health care system on the basis that it would raise taxes — but only for the wealthiest people in this country. Attempting to institute a nationalized health care system will not be an easy task, as many politicians are against it and will have a hard time getting it through the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Despite this, however, steps are currently being taken within the United States to lower the cost of some drugs, including the recent cap on insulin prices. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, one of the largest producers of insulin supply in America, announced that they were going to curb the inflation of insulin prices. Additionally, the Biden administration has introduced legislation in an effort to force pharmaceutical and insurance companies to lower the cost of insulin.

While the United States is moving in the right direction toward alleviating some of the problems with the health care system, the measures being instituted simply do not go far enough. It’s time that America followed the rest of the world’s lead and established a health care system that works for everyone so that medical tourism and situations like the one that occurred in Mexico do not become the norm.

Samantha Rigante is a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and law.