Research Paper

The Twenty-Eight Amendment


The United States of America first became a nation when we declared war on Britain and signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Although, it was not for another twelve years, on September 17, 1787, that the United States signed the Constitution that we study today.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America (Monk 11.)

These are the words that our founding fathers started our Constitution with over two hundred years ago, and every law passed incorporates the spirit behind our Constitution. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights give us ample rights that protect our everyday lives.

Our Constitution gives us what Thomas Jefferson believes to be our inalienable rights, which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson got a lot of ideas from the European Enlightenment. One idea came from a philosopher named John Locke, whom believed that every person had certain natural rights, which were life, liberty, and the right to property. (The Western World.)

Our ten Amendments in the Bill of Rights ensure that everyone has these certain rights. The First Amendment is the freedom of expression. This protects our liberties, such as freedom of press and speech, freedom to practice whatever religion we please and where we chose to participate in our religious customs, as well as the right to petition and assemble peacefully. Although, there are certain times when these freedoms are censored more than others; for example during a time of war our government has restricted what can be said and printed. The first time this happened in America was the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798, and laws like it continue today.

The Second Amendment is the right to bear arms. Back during the revolution the United States was made up of a militia, by having this right we are guaranteed the ability to protect ourselves in our own homes.

The Third Amendment is quartering of troops. This simply means that in a time of peace our government is not allowed to force a soldier to live with you without your permission.

The next amendment is the right to unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that because of the Fourth Amendment the government needs a warrant to search someone’s property. To obtain a warrant the government must have probable cause and try to prove that to a judge.

The Fifth Amendment is the right to due process of the law. This amendment states that no one can be held without an indictment from Grand Jury with certain military exceptions. Also, a person cannot go on trial twice for the same crime, which would be considered double jeopardy. Then there is also the right that is given to you that if you do not have to take the stand if it may incriminate you. Also, your private property is not allowed to be seized by the government without giving you compensation.

The Sixth Amendment is the right to a fair trial. In our Bill of Rights we are ensured a speedy public trial that has an impartial jury. We as American citizens are innocent until proven guilty.

Then there is our Seventh Amendment, which is the right to have a trial by a jury in civil cases. These are common law cases that must exceed twenty dollars, and we are given the right to have a trial with a jury. Once this case has taken place you are unable to have it re-examined by another courtroom.

The Eight Amendment protects us against cruel and unusual punishment. The United States does not allow cruel and unusual punishment to any citizen for any reason. We are allowed to lock people up for the crimes that they have committed against our society, but we are not allowed to take away their unalienable rights. Also, the court is not allowed to post excessive bail for your crime, or give you absurd fines that you are unable to pay.

The Ninth Amendment protects our un-enumerated rights. This amendment is solely here to protect our human rights, which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Last there is the Tenth Amendment, which guarantees states rights. This Amendment is here to make sure that the federal government is not allowed to control everything and take away states rights. There is a reason why any state is able to change the drinking age if they pleased, or even go as far as making marijuana legal. (Monk 127-198.)

These are the first ten Amendments, but since the 200 years that have gone by there are now twenty-seven Amendments. These Amendments cover issues like prohibition, women’s rights, slavery, and even discrimination laws.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The government is us; we are the government, you and I” (Proverbia.net.) Roosevelt was a great president, and knew that the people of the United States are the government. We have the ability to protest and the right to vote who we want to serve in the office.

This is why the next Amendment needs to be something that is truly a right that should be given to all citizens of the United States, and that is the right to universal health care.

Currently, the United States is one of the only advanced countries that do not provide their citizens with health care. Our neighbors to the north, Canada, have universal coverage that is funded through general taxes. Of course, any citizen is able to purchase private insurance. (Seaman 1.) As written in a USA Today article, “There isn’t the case-by-case nickel-and-diming that many American patients experience with HMO’s” (Pearson 1.) Also, the article goes on to state, “We may wait longer than insured Americans do for non-urgent care, but we are willing to if it means the specialist is highly skilled, in demand, and attending to sicker patients first” (Pearson 2.) According to World Health Organization, Canadians have lower mortality rates than Americans do when it is compared to injury or heart disease problems. With the issue of cancer Canada seems to have just as many deaths as the United States. There is no reason to profit from someone’s illness, especially when they do not have excess funds.

In Spain, the government provides universal health care, but does have a small population who buys supplemental health insurance. All their funding comes from taxes and co-pays. The local government is in charge of providing the direction of how care is delivered, but it is widely overseen by the national government. Italy also offers health care to everyone though co-pays and income taxes. The United Kingdom offers coverage to all “ordinary residents” and most services are free or are available to you with a small co-pay. (Seaman 1-2)

The Netherlands does it a little differently then most countries. The Netherlands provides near-universal health care, by having quality care with affordable insurance. All coverage plans are distributed through privately owned insurance companies. “Under the new system, the Dutch government has required that everybody gets insurance; in return, it makes sure insurance is available to everybody, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions or income” (Cohn 17.) Since it is all run through private companies the government is required to regulate their practices extremely rigidly. “The Dutch government prohibits cherry-picking. Insurers cannot turn away applicants, or charge them more, because of pre-existing medical conditions or risk of illness” (Cohn 18.) The Dutch are much happier with this system, because it is fair and accessible to everyone. When signing up for a plan every customer knows exactly the coverage that they will be receiving, this eliminates a lot of the confusion about what may or may not be covered. “In effect, the program takes away the financial reward for shunning unhealthy patients” (Cohn 18.)

After the examples written above why are we still letting the insurance companies run off pure profit instead of thinking about what is best for our citizens? In our country we decided to give out Social Security in 1935 and invoke Medicare into our culture in 1965. (In it Together 1.) Our current President has brought the major issue of healthcare to the table. President Obama has started this process by signing the first step towards a universal health care bill for the citizens of the United States, on March 23, 2010. This bill is only a start. It will provide coverage for about 30 million American citizens who are currently uninsured. The government will now be required to regulate private insurance companies more thoroughly, and ban any such practices that deny customers coverage because of a pre-existing condition. (Silverleib 1.) I believe that it is time for our country to follow the lead of other countries and give our citizens that right to health care. No one should be scared to go to the hospital because they are uninsured and cannot afford care. Without the Twenty-Eight Amendment written below we are impeding on our rights provided by our Constitution, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Twenty-Eight Amendment states, “No person shall be denied health coverage by insurance companies, and ample health care must be provided; guaranteed care is required to include prevention, screening, outpatient procedures, serious illness, terminal illness, prescriptions, dental, vision, maternity and family care, emergency services, and in case of a traumatic incidents therapy. Hospitals must be under strict regulation.”

This Amendment can now be broken up and examined in smaller pieces.

No person shall be denied health coverage by insurance companies:

Under this law it will make it illegal for any insurance company to cherry-pick patients. Everyone will be able to obtain coverage no matter what pre-existing condition he or she may have. Also, coverage will not be denied because of income; the government must be able to provide subsidies for people who are unable to afford insurance. This also means that insurance companies must offer reasonable rates for their basic plan. Their basic plan must incorporate everything mentioned in the Amendment above.

And ample healthcare must be provided:

This is based off the idea that anyone who is a citizen and legal resident of the United States cannot be denied healthcare. If you walk into a hospital or any doctor’s office they are required to tend to your needs. You are not allowed to be denied any medical attention based on race, ethnicity, social, or economic class.

Guaranteed care is required to provide prevention, screening, outpatient procedures, serious illness, terminal illness, prescriptions, dental, vision, maternity and family care, emergency services, and in case of a traumatic incidents therapy:

Written in this Amendment is the basic coverage that any insurance company must offer, and if the person is not financially able to support this then the American government must take over the responsibility. Every person will have all the prevention methods needed to try to avoid serious illnesses. This means everyone will have access to all vaccines, and educational programs geared towards STD’s and sexual education. This is important in our society because when looking at HIV statistics from 2007, America had an estimated 455,636 Americans across the country whom have been infected and are living with this disease. (http://www.avert.org/usa-states-cities.htm.)

Then comes yearly screening. This will include all STD testing, any blood being drawn, drug testing, as well as pregnancy screening, yearly woman’s testing, and yearly men’s testing. For abortion it can be left up to your plan whether you are covered, but the visits leading up to the termination will be covered.

Outpatient procedures will be covered for anyone, as well as serious or terminal illness. All finances for serious or terminal illnesses will be covered under your plan, as well as any long-term prescriptions that you may receive from a doctor. Prescriptions of any sort will have a small co-pay.

Dental and vision will be covered for anyone. You will be provided yearly dental cleanings and vision testing. Any jaw problems or teeth problems that occur will be covered under the basic insurance. If you are in need of glasses then your plan will cover yearly lenses and a new set of frames every two years.

Then the issue of maternity must be covered under insurance. Your entire birthing process from the first doctor’s appointment to the hospital stay if you have a C-section will be covered. Once your family is started then your coverage goes on to provide insurance and care for everyone. All children are apart of their parents insurance until they are financially stable to pay for their own. Insurance companies cannot kick a child off of their parents insurance until they are out of school completely. This means anyone under the age of twenty-six and still studying at college is allowed to stay on their parents plan.

Emergency services are the unexpected visits to the hospital, and any ambulance rides over to the hospital that will also be covered.

Therapy is the last component in everyone’s plan. This ensures that everyone has therapy available to him or her if they have been through a traumatic incident.

Hospitals must be under strict regulation:

There may be private and public hospitals, but the American government will strictly regulate them. Each hospital will be looked after to make sure that they are providing sufficient care to the citizens of the United States. It should not be about who is competing for the most money, but who is going to provide the best care.

“Hospitals began as charitable institutions supported solely by donations to provide comfort for those who could not afford personal medical care” (Owens 238.) Every hospital should be rewarded with a tax exemption for their charitable work. To put the private and public hospitals on a more level playing field they will get rid of shareholders and have a volunteer based board of directors. This will close the gap on public and private hospitals fighting on two different levels, with only one trying to help their community and the other based exclusively on profit. (Owens 238-242.)

This is an important issue that has been going on in our government today, but is also the kind of health care Amendment that I wish our leaders would pass. It is not fair for the people who are unable to afford simple healthcare to be punished. They have the right to be healthy and live long prosperous lives, and our current president believes in our unalienable rights. In President Obama’s speech on health care reform to Congress he stated, “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform”, and our president has shown that he has really done something about it. (Obama 1.) This bill was finally passed in the House with 219 votes against 212 for the reform, on March 21, 2010. This was the bill that had already been passed through the Senate back in December, and it is our first step in the right direction. (Silverleib 1.)