With health care costs on the rise, politicians and voters are focused on health care reform. Some favor a universal health care system; others oppose increased government control. Universal health care is a complex and sometimes confusing issue, but understanding the basics can help you form a knowledgeable opinion.
Definition
Universal health care is a broad term that can have several meanings. One system of universal health care, such as the one used in Great Britain, means the government owns all health care facilities, employs all doctors and nurses and pays health care costs for all of its citizens. This is also known as socialized medicine. Another system includes government financing for health care for all citizens, as in Medicare or Medicaid. A third system uses the tax law to bring everyone into the private-insurance system.
Pros of Universal Health Care
According to a 2004 report by the Institutes of Medicine, about 18,000 Americans die each year because they are uninsured, so the main advantage of universal health care is coverage for all citizens. Dr. Patrick Whelan, also from My Family Doctor, writes that universal health care coverage could prevent child deaths from asthma, cancer deaths in minority communities and fewer veterans who depend on emergency rooms for primary care. Whelan also writes that "a plurality of physicians... supports national health insurance."
Results of Being Uninsured
According to the American Medical Students Association, or AMSA, rising health care costs have made it difficult for employers to provide health insurance to employees and led to cuts in Medicaid. Therefore, those without health insurance are often unable to purchase prescription medicines, postpone needed medical care, visit the emergency room instead of a primary care physician and forgo preventive care. This means that the uninsured often remain untreated for serious health problems, leading to poorer prognoses or more drastic and costly treatments. Uninsured patients with chronic diseases are more likely to receive poor care, leading to hospitalization and disabilities. The government assumes most of these higher costs eventually anyway, to the tune of $34.5 billion in 2002, according to the AMSA. Proponents of universal health care claim that public coverage would decrease government costs in the long run.
Costs
The largest question surrounding universal health care is who will pay for it. The AMSA reports that universal health care could cost between $34 billion and $69 billion. According to Dr. John O'Shea, from My Family Doctor, universal health care puts a strong financial burden on the government, and costs have to be met with increased taxes or spending cuts in other areas such as defense, education or medical research and development.
Other Cons of Universal Health Care
According to O'Shea, citizens of countries with universal health care often experience prolonged wait times for many services, including cancer treatment and cardiac surgery. O'Shea writes that "government programs are inefficient" because of bureaucratic requirements. Government control of health care would also limit citizens' ownership of health care resources and private choice about how resources should be utilized.
Alternatives to Universal Health Care
Instead of providing free health care for all citizens, O'Shea recommends that the government subsidize health care costs for low-income families. As Karen Tumulty writes in Time Magazine, bringing down costs by making systems run more efficiently would make health care more affordable for all.
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