I have long believed that the United States’ lack of a universal healthcare program is highly immoral and unethical. Truly, this is a country where the profits of drug companies and insurance companies matter more than the health and well being of the citizenry. It is a common criticism against the United States that we are the only developed nation on earth without a universal healthcare program. What is and is not considered a developed country is fluid, but the point remains true nonetheless. Apparently, there is something most other developed nations around the world have figured out that we as a nation have not. I would say that is it simply a refusal to believe that healthcare is a fundamental human right and not something for companies to exploit to make a profit off of. And yet it is barely discussed in our political discourse. Both Republicans and Democrats are completely beholden to corporate interests and only a handful, such as Sanders and Williamson, have the courage to want to do something about it. One would think that our recent struggles with the Coronavirus pandemic would finally illuminate the need for an upheaval of our healthcare system, but apparently not. According to Procon.org the US would have saved over $105 billion in hospitalization costs during the pandemic had we already had a single payer system in place. According to the same website, a single payer system has the potential to save in excess of 68,000 lives and 1.73 million life-years compared to the privatized corporate greed we have now. The overall cost of a single payer system is debated, but it’s worth keeping in mind that we already have a from of universal healthcare with Medicare and Medicaid. This creates the benefit of not having to create a new system from scratch. All we have to do is expand it. And whatever the cost is, I refuse to accept it as politically unfeasible when we can afford to send $800 billion to the military.