The great Debate: Universal Health Care
There have been numerous debates over whether or not the United States should adopt a Universal Health Care system like some of its counterparts, such as Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. Many believe that the U.S. is behind in terms of the types of health care that are offered to the public, the outrage being both domestic and international with many citizens of the UK joking about how Americans have to pay ride in an ambulance, something those with Universal Health Care do not have to do. But what exactly are the implications of Universal Health Care, and if it works so well for other countries, why has the United States not yet adopted a similar system of their own?
First, it is important to understand the United States’ current health care system, as there is no single nationwide system. Americans are left to purchase health insurance from either private companies or government-provided health care, only offered to certain impoverished groups. 84% of Americans have health insurance, with 61% of this health insurance provided via employers. If most Americans have some form of health care, why is there a push for the implementation of Universal Health Care? To answer this, Harvard scholar blames the high cost and uneven access. Particularly the high cost but low quality, the US regularly scores poorly on many health measures such as life expectancy and preventable hospital admissions. Also, since more than half of Americans receive health insurance through their employers, they are one layoff away from losing access to health care. In addition to this, because some insurance companies do not provide full coverage, some insured Americans spend more money paying for their healthcare on medications and life-changing surgeries. The two public health care systems, Medicaid and Medicare, provided to the elderly, disabled, and economically disadvantaged, do not cover all health care expenses. For Medicaid, some states provide more benefits than others, making the service’s benefits inequal. Making Health Care universal has been proposed as a possible solution to this problem, but there are Pros and Cons to the system with everything.
Supporters of the implementation of Universal health care cite numerous pros why the US should adopt the system. These pros include: adopting a single-payer health care system would lower the total cost of spending on health care by $1.8 trillion, it would save more lives (about 44,789 people die per year due to a lack of health insurance), the right to health care as per the United Nations Universal is a human right, and that the system could make medical services affordable to everyone. These are supported by analysis of other countries that offer Universal Health Care; for example, both the UK and Canada spent about 42% of what the US did in healthcare in 2017. It is most important to note that the United States is the only nation apart of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) that does not currently offer Universal health care, making the nation behind about 130 other countries. For a nation that boasts itself as one of the most progressive, many of the arguments for universal health care call out the hypocrisy of the nation’s inhibition to follow suit of other nations and adopt the same system.
On the other hand, critics of the system say that while it works well for other industrialized nations, it is important to note that these other nations are not as populated and diverse as the US. Therefore the adoption of universal health care would not be feasible here. Moreover, listed cons for this implementation include research from George Mason University that predicts that universal health care would increase federal spending by $32.6 trillion in the first ten years of its practice. This system would also push the U.S. to a more socialist government, which numerous Americans would agree is not an ideal practice. The biggest con that critics argue is the main reason that the U.S. should not offer a single-payer health care system? It would significantly raise taxes, as the UK’s payroll taxes currently average about 37%, compared to the U.S. 15.3%. Most critics’ strongest arguments boil down to one thing: finances.
Overall, the hot button issue that is Universal Health does not seem to be reaching a point of compromise or resolution soon. With strong points on each side of the spectrum, it is hard to say whether the U.S. will ever follow suit of other nations and make health care accessible to all on the federal level. Perhaps there is another way to ensure that this human right is upheld for everyone equally.
Sources: Comparisons of Health Care Systems in the United States, Germany, and Canada
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