John Q

Savannah Thrasher-Quirk

In Nick Cassavetes’ movie John Q, a father desperate to get a heart transplant for his child is denied help when the hospital discovers his insurance will not cover the procedure. In a desperate attempt, John Q takes over the emergency room. He develops relationships with the hostages that ultimately save his life and support him throughout. The detectives exhaust many options in an attempt to save the hostages. In the end, John realizes his son will only get a heart if John kills himself for him. At the last second, a heart is found for his son and he is saved. John gets off with minimal time after winning the hearts of millions as they watched the story unfold.

When people begin looking for jobs, one of their main priorities is to find a job that provides some type of health care. Health care makes many people feel secure that if a medical emergency happens then they will be covered and can get the help they need. Some people don’t realize the importance of having health care until they truly need it for medical care in an emergency. Many jobs require that a person work full time to be provided with health care. Many people are in the same situation as John Q was. He was a full time worker, but the company cut him back to less than 40 hours, which means he was considered part time. Many people never really consider health care until they are sick or have children.

The US spends more than $2 trillion on healthcare every year, but many people are still going without since the US doesn’t have a national coverage. Americans that doesn’t have a job that provide them with healthcare can use Medicare or Medicaid, but there are many qualifications to receive either. Jobs that provide healthcare may not even have very good healthcare. Many places use the cheapest plan that may not cover big procedures such as transplants.

I believe the country should provide healthcare for all Americans, but I don’t think the money should come from taxing...