Is single-payer (government-funded) free universal health care a good idea? |
Universal Health Care is good economically
Universal Health Care will create jobs, bring down medical expenses, cover the uninsured, and help the United States compete globally. Sixty percent of bankruptcies nationwide are caused by health care problems. Over 50 percent of personal bankruptcies are caused by health care costs. Countries like England and Germany, which have Universal Health care systems, are spending less on medical care than the US, which has the highest per capita health expenditures of any country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Posted by: AnonymousI think single-payer free universal health care is a great idea.
Yes, I think single-payer government-funded universal health care is an excellent idea. I do not think we can keep our current policies and spending in place and hope to achieve it though. In order to afford it, we actually need to lower taxes on job providers; if we don't, they simply move their jobs overseas, eliminating potential taxpayers and creating more people in need of government assistance - for which our fewer taxpayers will have to pay. Other spending practices need to be eliminated, and it's my opinion that the democratic party is extremely guilty of making this health system impossible to obtain, yet claiming they want to instate it.
Posted by: RavidbardeIThe fees incurred by creating a single-payer system will be outdone by the increase in quality of life our citizens will experience.
Many other countries in the world rely on single-payer systems. These systems are half the cost when all fees are considered. They also provide statistically better care and shorter wait times, generally speaking, although Canada has shown higher wait times than the US. We are still ranked dead last in the overall health care that we supply our citizens with.
Posted by: WeaverEmmiYes
I think it is best, because no citizen should be without healthcare. It is a human right. I think the costs of medical care would be reduced with a universal health system. That way drug companies would not have their costly ads on television advertiseing and the government could purchase meds in bulk to reduce costs.They could negotiate the best prices. Regulaations are not a bad thing.
Posted by: AnonymousYes, plain and simple.
Simply put, everyone deserves to have access to healthcare. Universal health care ensures that. So, I'm for it. I'm not so sure about forcing people to partake in Universal health care. This might need to remain a matter of choice. But, yes, it is a good idea to make sure that everyone has access to health care. No one life is more valuable than the next.
Posted by: MohaI0v35France and Canada
If single payer systems work for other countries than why is it such a crime for Americans. People from other countries who have duel citizanship will go to their home countries because they do not trust the American healthcare system... That is a fact.
Posted by: AnonymousIt works well in the countries that have it.
Government funded health care isn't free, it's paid for through taxes. But this is one thing that I believe is worth paying taxes for. People shouldn't have to worry about having no insurance if they lose their jobs, which has happened to a lot of people recently. It's not right that people with previous health problems or chronic conditions aren't able to get insurance, or that self-employed people can't afford insurance. In European countries and Canada where they have government-funded insurance, it works well.
Posted by: N Schroeder 60A single-payer government funded health care system will allow all citizens to receive appropriate health care.
Studies of government health care in other nations show it can be cost-effective to provide universal health care. Citizens in these nations do not go bankrupt due to health care costs, are healthier on average, and are not denied necessary medical services. The most successful of these programs offers citizens to choose which doctor to visit, limit waiting times to see a specialist, and impose limits on health care costs.
Posted by: TrashyBrain42Single Payer health care is a great idea
There are too many people in this country getting sick and dying because they cannot afford to get the help that they need. Take my family for example we are stuck in the middle we can't afford insurance ourselves but make too much for medicare. Even if the taxes go up wouldn't we be paying less than we would for insurance for our whole family?
Posted by: frogyeYes, because single-payer health care is efficient and fair.
Single-payer health care, where patients can choose from multiple health care providers, and a single payer (the government) pays the providers, has two important advantages over a system based on multiple private insurance companies. First, single-payer systems are more efficient. For every dollar paid to private insurers, only about 80 cents goes to the health care provider. For Medicare, a single-payer system, over 90 cents of every dollar goes to the provider. Second, a single-payer system is the fairer system, because there is no incentive to deny coverage to people, or to deny payment of legitimate claims.
Posted by: LuciaLViolates Human Nature??
To the person who said it violates human nature...what about human rights?? We will all be stricken with some sort of illnes in our life & to have the burden of health care costs is just inhumane. I believe that everyone should have access to healthcare. And I live in a country where we are fortunate to have single-user heath care. I couldn't imagine having to pay for some immediate emergency..how would you be able to focus on getting well if you have no peace of mind on the financial burden. As far as data the US comes in last econmically, they spent 17% GDP where in Canada we spent 10% we were ranked 30 out of 191 in terms of overall health system performance (WHO 2000) The US has so much Administration costs that is why your health care is so expensive. Cut all the insurance companies out, and you cut out all your overhead expenses. You have a procedure done..when it goes to billing..the coder has to look @ 30 different codes (for each insurance) because 1 procedure has different criteria for each insurance..instead of 1 code used by ALL the insurance companies.
Posted by: AnonymousHealth should be a right, not a pleasure in America.
Americans should have the God-given rights of life, liberty, and property- under a government-funded universal health care system Americans are insured to have that right. It is the governments obligation to protect its citizens and regulation is a positive thing because if it didn't exsist, private systems could have to much power over the prices of medications and services. Choosing the government funded health care system means choosing equal rights to life, which benefits the greater good in America.
Posted by: AnonymousTrue single payer is a mark of civilization and it's about time we stopped acting as if we were taking the moral high ground by impoverishing people.
Single payer health care or other system where all people are covered is needed to keep people from having to deal with fear of poverty while also dealing with illness, never mind keeping healthy. It's time for the greedy to let go of the powerless and find some honest way to make a living. People are dying so that other people can have salt-water swimming pools and other wretched excess. Healthy children make healthy adults, I want to see this happen in my lifetime and single-payer done right is one way this could happen.
Posted by: groovyboxLook at Europe.
Europe as a whole has better healthcare than the US for mainly one reason, they have universal healthcare.
Because it its government funded, it is affordable by everyone, and no one is excluded. They is no such thing as qualifications for healthcare. Everyone should be able to have good healthcare, not just the well off.Posted by: mfriedeI agree with single-payer (government-funded) free universal health care; everyone deserves to have health care.
Single-payer systems have worked for other countries, so there is no reason it shouldn't be able to work for us. Everyone deserves to have access to health care, whether they can afford it or not. People shouldn't have to worry about losing their insurance when they lose their jobs too. It's a way to relieve a lot of stress on everyone and provide a common good service for our country.
Posted by: boobopI believe that single-payer health care is is a good idea, and our current system is bankrupting the county in order to prevent it.
Single-payer, free health care, is provided by virtually all industrialized Western societies, excluding the United States. Our money-hungry health care industry will not allow our government to switch to single-payer, in order to save their profits. But, it is an established fact that other nations with free health care have more healthy citizens
Posted by: BrownDustin82Single-payer health care is an excellent idea, as can be seen by examples of countries that have used it.
A good way to judge the effectiveness of single-payer health care is to simply compare current systems with those in countries using single-payer health care. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia are some examples of countries with this policy. Compared to fully privatized health care, as implemented in the United States, they spend much less per capita on health care, and have better health outcomes.
Posted by: tacomoonThe goodness of a society can be determined by how well it takes care of its people.
Universal health care is a God-given right, and not something that should even be up for debate. A government's main function is to take care of its citizens and make sure that their civil rights are upheld. Health care is a civil right. Why should someone be more entitled to access to a doctor or hospital because they have more money? This is a sanctity of life issue: How much does a society value all of its people, not just those who can afford the cost of health care?
Posted by: P0ngCuIIA free universal health care program would greatly improve public health.
A free universal health care program is a great idea as long as private health care is also available. Health care should be a right and not a privilege. By having private health care while providing free universal health care allows the public to choose their coverage. People that can't afford the best coverage should have still have access to free health care for themselves and their family.
Posted by: PinkThorSingle payer health care is a good idea in helping the most people possible.
Single payer free universal health care is a good idea because it will have the greatest impact on the larger possible amount of people in obtaining medical care. While critics maintain that the quality of health care will decline, to an individual in desperate need of medical attention any form of health care is better than none.
Posted by: ThegaXenSingle payer health care is a good idea because businesses can not capitalize on someone's misfortunes.
Single Payer Health Care levels the playing field for everyone because the costs are the same and everyone will universally be covered. Health Insurance companies have a responsibility to their share holders to produce a profit. This incentive to make a profit could be counter productive in getting someone the medical treatment that they need because the health insurance company could always find a loophole to deny a person coverage.
Posted by: R3ubHockey
Look at Europe
Some people love it but they are not the ones who need life saving treatments and are waiting months for it rather then getting it quickly like we do here in the US which will change if we go to single payer system. Also many instances show that people are denied lifesaving medicines and treatments because they are deemed too expensive by those countries. I don't really want the government telling me if I can or can't live.
Posted by: AnonymousEconomics
Health isn't a right, its a privilege. The pursuit of happiness includes the want of good health. the want of health is a desire, not an enforced law. if someone doesnt have a job that gives benifits, find a new one, or better yet, get two jobs and pay for it themselves. No one has a right to complain about their issues except for veterans or those who have served. They fought for their rights. Im not trying to sa that someones opinion doesnt matter, all Im saying is that nobody else cares about the opinion. And seriously, expecting the government to pay for someone who cant afford to pay for themselves (with the exception of the disabled or elderly) is ignorant and stupid. The government cant even take care of itself.
Posted by: AnonymousExpensive (not "free"), inefficient, low quality, violates freedom
a) Government healthcare is not "free", or doctors would be working for nothing in return. This money is taken by force from taxpayers. In my country, for example, one who makes the national average pays many times more monthly in taxes JUST FOR this "free" healthcare than it would cost for insurance in a private clinic. It would be even cheaper if the person was uninsured and just paid for visits. Some argue that rich people pay for poorer people's healthcare in their taxes - untrue, the poorer people pay the richer people's taxes in higher prices for the products rich people are selling.
b) It does not "create jobs", because the doctors would just be working privately.
c) It is much lower quality and inefficient because no one owns a government hospital, and so the manager has no real motivation to take care of it and keep it running smoothly. He also doesn't need to worry about budget because the hospital will get subsidized anyways.
There is also no competition at all, so hospitals have no reason to fight over patients by offering better care at lower prices.
d) It takes away choice from the patient by forcing him to go to a public hospital instead of a private one. What if someone doesn't want to be insured at all and prefers to pay per visit?Posted by: Photon_Man62It is not good
Single payer coverage (government funded and controlled) restricts choice for its citizens. Many countries who currently provide their citizens with government funded and controlled health care have had problems with rationing health care, long waiting periods for services, and higher taxes to pay for the medical bureaucracy. Patients in these countries have little or no choice in the doctors they see, and a second opinion is almost impossible to get. Many end up coming to the U.S. to receive services they can't receive in their own countries. Government run health care also restricts research by private industry, since there is no financial benefit for finding new and better procedures and medicines.
Posted by: AnonymousA government run health care option is the wrong thing for America at this time.
With the amount of debt the United States currently lies beneath, this option would be terrible. Most Americans are already covered under plans offered by employers, private plans they subscribe to, or medicare/medicaid. The government already runs these last two, and from what I hear they are not very efficient or cost effective.
Posted by: 5h035BowI oppose single-payer health care because it inhibits choice for the patient.
Single payer coverage (Government funded and controlled) restricts choice for its citizens. Many countries who currently provide their citizens with government funded and controlled health care have had problems with rationing health care, long waiting periods for services, and higher taxes to pay for the medical bureaucracy. Patients in these countries have little or no choice in the doctors they see, and a second opinion is almost impossible to get. Many end up coming to the U.S. to receive services they can't receive in their own countries. Government run health care also restricts research by private industry, since there is no financial benefit for finding new and better procedures and medicines.
Posted by: KourtneyBSingle payer health care is a false sense of security.
Ask most people who live in the countries with single payer health care if they are satisfied with it and you will find a resounding no. Ask our hospitals how many people come here from those countries to get the services they cant get in their own system? The data is out there, look it up. Once it is in place you become a statistic in the system. The system becomes overrun with people trying to get their needs met and hospitals that specialize cant make any money because they cant meet their needs with a "level playing field" finacially. Need a heart, are you over 65, move to the back of the line. The 45 year old will use it longer so statistically they are the better investment for the government dollar. List are now formed based on some govenrment experts idea of who is of greater need. Single player does not mean you are getting an even playing field.
Posted by: AnonymousSingle-payer, government-funded, free universal health care is a bad idea because the country simply cannot afford it.
Every entitlement program that the government offers costs more money than it should and the taxpayers get caught footing the bill. Many people can afford to pay for their own private health insurance and they should have the right to do this. This is just simply a task that is to huge to be solved in this way.
Posted by: R0d0Ferdy"free" universal healthcare violates human nature
By providing "free" universal healthcare to any nation, you invariably violate basic human nature. When a person is given something repeatedly that is marketed as free, they begin to take it for granted. It is just how the prideful, self-serving human nature works. When it comes to healthcare, people will become more lazy in the care of their own health. If something happens to them, their instinctive reaction will be to say "the government will pay for it". This is why other governments who provide universal healthcare have to cut back on services and eliminate coverages based on lifestyle choices. People only put effort into something that they have to work and pay for themselves. In the end, healthcare is a service like any other that should be paid for by the individual. Health insurance, as opposed to healthcare, is the product that a person would buy to offset the risk of a major medical accident or disease in their lifetime. Too many times in the debate of this issue the terms "healthcare" and "health insurance" are used interchangeably and that is wrong. This is used by the government to their advantage because people are paying attention to the semantics of the debate.
Posted by: AnonymousNo
The healthcare system that has been proposed is giving the government way too much control and will cause many doctors to just quit or move. People need to consider all the facts of the system, good idea or not, it has to be set up in a way that will not burn the citizens of the country.
Posted by: truthisnowGovernment funded health insurance would just create a different type of problem.
Government controlled health care is in place in other countries and we should look at what it does in those countries for those people before we decide it is a solution. There would just be problems of another nature, not a solution. The solution should be government regulation of our insurance industry and modifications in the whole health care model that has developed.
Posted by: babydoll93I do not think that government-funded universal health care is a good idea because it still has to be paid for by someone.
The term "government funded" is deceiving. The government itself, has no funds, other than the funds that we the people, provide. Therefore, it follows that this type of health care would be costly to us (the citizens) and not to the government, which is why they seem to be so focused on this idea. If they pass this, they lose nothing. We the people, are the ones who will be footing the bills. Other areas of the world already have universal health care, and if you do the research, you'll discover that it hasn't worked for them. It will not work for us either. Not only is it expensive, but it takes away the constitutional freedom to choose how you want to take care of yourself. This should not be the business of the government. If the government wants to help, one thing they can do is cap the insurance premiums that doctors have to pay. That would take down health care to a point where many more people could afford it.
Posted by: KimbeBeat