Just like any healthcare policy, universal health systems have their problems.
According to the organization Physicians for a National Health Program, the United States spends twice as much as other first-world nations on health care ($8,160 per year, per capita), yet the American health system is less effective in providing quality care for all citizens. While many agree that the United States needs some sort of national system to satisfy health care needs, there are some potential problems with universal health care programs that proponents and politicians need to keep in mind.
Long Wait Lists
According to Dr. John S. O'Shea, a physician interviewed by the online magazine My Family Doctor, government-run businesses and programs are inherently less efficient than those subject to free market forces. Less-efficient institutions lead to service shortages, as does the perception that universal health care is "free." Businessweek reminds readers that universal health care indeed has a cost. Health services are prepaid by tax dollars, so although it is not free, people don't feel that their healthcare is affecting their wallets when they take trips to the family physician. Some citizens might go for doctor's visits, request tests or have operations that they would not normally consider necessary if they were paying for care out of pocket or through private insurance. The "free health care" mentality adds more people to the queue, increasing service wait times.
Higher Costs
The same factors that lengthen wait lists for services also increase health care costs. Government inefficiency and surging demand for services make care cost more as demand exceeds supply, and governments respond either by clamping down on funding or increasing taxes. As Dr. O'Shea points out, governments may have to reduce budgets in other areas, such as education and defense, to meet national health care needs.
Paying For Those Who Make Unhealthy Choices
As the website BalancedPolitics.org points out, everyone pays for everyone's care in a universal system, instead of individuals paying for their own needs. Healthy people who exercise, eat properly, avoid drugs and don't smoke end up paying for those who knowingly compromise their health through a series of poor decisions. Because someone with unhealthy habits (a smoker, for example) is much more likely to develop complications and diseases, more of your tax dollars may go to helping these people rather than to taking care of you and your family's health.
Lower Doctor's Wages
The website Newsflavor.com reports that government regulations aimed at keeping costs under control keep doctor's wages relatively low. Some countries with universal health care programs experience issues with "brain drain," where domestically-trained doctors leave their home countries for the promise of higher-paid positions in other countries, like the United States. This trend isn't surprising, given the length and high cost of a physicians education that leave doctors eager to pay off debts and get rewarded for years of hard work.
Tags: health care, universal health, universal health care, United States, care needs