Single Payer System Pros And Cons

In the article "The Single-Payer Option: A Reconsideration” by Adam Oliver (Oliver, Adam. "The Single-Payer Option: A Reconsideration." Journal Of Health Politics, Policy & Law 34.4 (2009): 509-530. Business Source Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2016), Oliver lists and analyzes the pros and cons of a single-payer system. Pros listed included cutting back overhead costs and full universal coverage. Cons listed included rationing (in the form of price, waiting times, and value of money) and lack of choice. In the end, the author’s conclusion is that, “Compared to [the current] competitive commercial multiple-payer model, single-payer systems are more effective at insuring the whole population; avoiding market failure, and alleviate equity-related problems;

Brian became aware of his testicular cancer five years ago. Despite insurance, Brian still owed thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. Over the course of three years, he built relationships with nurses, doctors, and the hospital staff during treatments and follow up appointments. Without warning or explanation, the insurance company no longer accepted his hospital as a provider under their plans. He doubted any other hospital staff could provide the physical and emotional support his previous providers gave and wondered how to replace the people who had been there during the toughest times of his life (Salmon). The current health care system in America affects people physically, emotionally, and financially. “Costs are enormous, yet Americans do not fare better, and often fare worse, than citizens in countries which spend substantially less on health care” (Cicconi).

“The more popular options include: 1) creating a single payer system by expanding existing government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and SCRIP, 2) mandating insurance coverage either individually or through place of

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare is a healthcare reform law that is intended to reform the health care system by providing Americans with affordable quality health insurance by controlling the growth in healthcare spending. Some critics of the Affordable Care Act say the ACA has not provided universal coverage, and one way to fix this is to adopt a “single-payer system.” I agree with these critics on the counts of the Single Payer System being a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health care financing, but the delivery of care remains largely in private hands. Doctors and patients regaining healthcare freedom, the accessibility of full coverage, and with financial benefits, the Single Payer System should be adopted by America today.

With rising healthcare costs being distributed predominantly on workers or their companies, the economic responsibility is placed on the very people who need it the least: the job creators. If the economic responsibility of healthcare costs was shifted to the government, the private sector job creators could have more revenue to stimulate the economy with additional jobs, better wages, and improved worker benefits. The best way to shift this cost obligation is via a single-payer healthcare system. A single-payer would make sure all citizens would be covered for all medical services, including doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug, and medical supply costs.

The Affordable Care Act is also known as Obamacare. It is a big change for the American healthcare industry and for the American healthcare consumer.

If the US were to adopt the single-payer system, as exists in Great Britain under the National Health Service (NHS), "a single-payer system would be setup such that one entity a government-run organization would collect all health care fees, and pay out all health care costs.... In a single-payer system, all hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers would bill one entity for their services. This alone reduces administrative waste greatly, and saves money, which can be used to provide care and insurance to those who currently don't have it" (What is single payer, 2012, PNHP).

The future of healthcare resides in a single-payer system. Our country already has roughly fifty years of experience in this area under the Medicare program. By extending Medicare to all citizens we could ensure that all have the health coverage they need and that “everyone would make a financial contribution to Medicare for All” (Seidman, 2015). A single-payer system would also give the government the necessary leverage to negotiate better prices for care and prescription

Medicaid is a taxpayer-funded program that provides health insurance to low-income individuals and families. Medicaid may be administered by the individual states, to a great extent the regulations and eligibility requirements vary from state to state and are only accepted at participating providers. Presently, Medicare is a government funded program also paid by the taxpayer. It provides health insurance to the elderly and disabled community. Multi-payer is a health care system which health care costs may be paid for by multiple entities through public and private contributions. Multi payer health care relies mainly on the on the financial capability of the policy holder or beneficiary. Some people may be disqualified from having this type of plan. For example, if someone has a pre-existing condition or, if there is a loss of a job or change in jobs. This can result in a person’s health care being affected. In as much, a single payer health care system, this is a system where a single entity pays the costs of health care, mainly the government. This would allow the beneficiary or person to freely select where they can receive quality health care. There would not be a financial barrier, lifetime limits, or preconditions that would affect health care (Alex, Rich).

While campaigning for the 2016 presidential election, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont proposed that America should adopt a single-payer health care system. In Sanders’s plan, there would have been only one insurance program that would have covered everyone in the United States; in effect, other programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and especially private insurance would be discontinued (Holahan, 2016, p. 1). If Sanders’s proposal were to be carried out, it would be a drastic change from the current system which predominately comprises of private insurance and hospitals under limited government regulations. The debate reopened on whether or not a single-payer system would be an effective system health care system or economically viable. Due to the contrasting nature of current health care system in the United States, policymakers should approach proposals of single-payer health care systems with caution and an understanding of the benefits and the drawbacks by examining the successes and failures of real-world systems.

Besides the general purpose of providing healthcare to all, the idea of government healthcare is that there is a single-payer as opposed to multiple insurance companies as well as government payers. All citizens are considered insured and only charged based on each individual’s “ability to pay” (MacDonald, 2013). This insurance would be paid for by the single-payer, the government, though the taxation of its citizens. Examples of this type of system can be seen in countries such as Canada and Sweden, as well as our own Department of Veterans Affairs ' VA health system. The idea of a nation-wide single-payer system has remained fairly popular in the United States due to the popularity and acceptance of the government’s Medicare program. In MacDonald’s article, “Healthcare reform: Socialized medicine?”, he quotes Deborah Chollet, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, D.C.: "No matter where you move in the country, you keep your Medicare," she says. "It allows you to go to any doctor or hospital you choose, and it 's not wildly expensive given the relatively expensive population it serves." (2013) Opinions such as these are what is fueling the desire of U.S. citizens to evolve our multi-payer system into a universal single-payer system. This would eliminate competing private insurance plans and exclusion of patients from coverage due to their existing health status (Kemble, 2012). Overall, a single-payer system appears to be a more equal, streamline

Many believe that healthcare in Canada is free when in fact if you look at it from a policy framework view it is not. The healthcare system in Canada is financed by government enforced tax rates that vary in costs depending on family size. income, and province location (Canadian Health Care). While the federal government creates standards for health care, provincial governments make decisions in regards to where hospitals should be located, how many physicians each location should have, and the services that they will provide (Canadian Health Care). Ultimately, if the United States moves to a single payer system, taxes will increase to pay for the program. The question that often is asked when discussing a single payer system is how much will my taxes increase and it this cost more than I am currently paying. This is most often where the debate begins.

A single payer national health care program could save American?s billions of dollars currently being spent on health care and insurance. A 2000 report by John Sheils and Randall Haught of the Lewin group on the costs and impact of a health care system in the state of Maryland showed that a single payer system implemented in that state would save its citizens 346.8 million dollars a year.(3) The majority of savings from this would come from vast reductions in administrative costs associated with insurance companies and the filing of claims. Sheils also reports that the average family would spend 261 dollars less each year on health costs (7). John Canham-Clyne notes in his book The Rational Option that a single payer bill proposed in the Senate was estimated to save the American public $110 billion a year by the Congressional Budget Office(24). The savings

A. At this current moment, there are hundreds of payers called insurance companies. With the universal healthcare, we can put an end to insurance companies so that they are all replaced with just a single payer.

“A national health insurance system, or single-payer system, in which a single government entity acts as the administrator to collect all health care fees, and pay out all health care costs. Medical services are publicly financed but not publicly provided” (Department for Professional Employees: AFL-CIO, 2014)