Universal health insurance is a common method of insurance in many nations. It can also be referred to as a national health plan. Nations that employ a universal health plan provide their citizens with a public health option that they are entitled to. This plan has many benefits as well as drawbacks. In the United States, the arguments that are for and against implementing a universal health insurance plan have made this topic a critical and issue politically and financially.
The Facts
Universal health insurance is a government sponsored health program that provides all eligible citizens with a basic form of health insurance including dental and vision. This type of plan is also called a 'single-payer' plan which means that one entity-the government-would be in charge of paying health care costs and collecting heath care fees. All of the industrialized countries employ some form of universal health insurance plan for their citizens. The lone exception is the United States.
Pros
Universal health insurance guarantees that everyone has the right to medical coverage regardless of income or medical condition. In the United States, it would essentially eliminate the $34 billion annually in uncompensated care provided by hospitals. People would be able to receive preventive care, which would likely lead to earlier detection of major medical conditions before they become severe and thus more expensive. It will also give those who are suffering from life-threatening health conditions the care they need that would not be affordable if they had their own coverage or were not insured at all.
Cons
Drawbacks to having universal health coverage include pay for such a health care policy. With more people able to receive medical care, the number of patients will outstrip the number of available medical professionals, which could lead to longer wait times. A single-payer system could drive out any competition from private insurers, who offer a more efficient way of providing service because of specialized health care expertise compared to a government system. Many people also point to the fact that the government-sponsored programs that are in place, Medicare and Medicaid, have significant financial troubles.
Misconceptions
Two of the biggest concerns in the United States about a universal health plan are waiting times and costs. Countries that do have government sponsored health coverage have recorded better results than many people in the United States are led to believe. Although Canada makes its people wait weeks to see a doctor if it is a nonemergency, Germany, Austria and Britain outperform the United States in waiting times. In Japan, waiting times are so minute that most citizens don't bother making appointments. The United States' managed health care and indemnity health plans are dwarfed by Germany's 200 private health plans with no increase in premiums if a person decides to switch carriers. Also, the money spent on nonmedical expenses such as administrative costs eats up 20 percent of the total health care cost in the United States. The administrative costs of Taiwan (1.5 percent), France (4 percent) and Canada (6 percent) are drastically lower. Japan, whose citizens visit their doctors three times more per year than the average American, spends only $3,400 per person annually. The average cost per person in the United States is more than $7,000.
Warning
The United States has 46 million people without health insurance and has an estimated $2.5 trillion health care price tag for 2009. Employers are cutting back because they cannot afford skyrocketing health premiums. They are paying about 70 percent of the $13,000 average premium for a family of four as the costs have grown over 119 percent this decade alone. It is estimated that 20,000 people die each year because they do not have access to medical treatment. With the swelling health costs spiraling out of control, more people will become uninsured and sick, problems that a universal health plan would address.
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