Universal Health Care Information
The health care system of the United States is constantly evolving, yet a reported 45 million citizens do not have any means to access it. To make matters worse, AARP reveals that America's health care quality is not up to par. In fact, 36 nations in the world rank higher than the United States when it comes to health care. Universal health care is one of the options being considered to help solve America's health care crisis. The idea of universal health care appears promising at first but questions continue to arise concerning just how big of a role government may play in the delicate decision making that is usually handled by physicians, private insurers and their patients.
What is Universal Health Care?
According to the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, universal health care is described as a centralized health care system that makes health insurance affordable and accessible to all citizens. The idea of universal health care is comparable to our government's Medicare system except that people under the age of 65 would also be covered. Universal health care covers medical, dental and hospital care.
Single Payer
Universal health care implements a single payer system that is government based. The single-payer (government) would receive all of the health care bills and provide all of the payments. Physicians for a National Health Program explain that under a single-payer system, each individual health care provider and health care facility would bill the government, solely.
Government Financed
Many of the countries around the world that utilize a system of universal health care use tax revenue and government funds to pay for it. For instance, HealthPAC Online explains that in Great Britain all citizens are entitled to health care coverage and the universal health care system is funded by government taxes that everyone contributes to in some shape or form. Each individual province in Canada is responsible for paying the cost of health care for its registered citizens and in Germany all working citizens pay taxes towards a general sickness fund--the non-working and disabled pay taxes towards their health care out of their benefit checks.
Job Loss or Pre-existing Conditions
Under a universal health care system, if you lose your job you still have coverage and you will not be denied coverage because you have a pre-existing health condition. Whitehouse.gov reports that universal health care also prohibits discrimination in regards to age or gender. In fact, universal health care makes it unlawful to deny coverage to anyone just because they are considered a health risk.
Full Responsibility and Accountability
Universal health care works best when all parties involved take every step necessary to ensure that the system runs smoothly. This means that insurance companies must keep costs as low as possible and pharmaceutical companies must ensure that medications are available for everyone that needs them. HealthInsuranceRates.com also explains that employers and employees must work together to keep all health care options fair for everyone.
A Different Perspective
Opponents to universal health care fear that such a controlled system may lead to a lack of competitiveness amongst doctors, causing some to provide inferior care. Others claim that such a system will cause overcrowding and long waiting lines for care. Some fear that the plan to revamp the health care system may force those who are content with the health care that they have now to give it up or lose it all together--only to be replaced with a mediocre universal health care system.
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