RESEARCHED CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Under Universal Healthcare, every American would have benefits unlike the present system we currently have. It would also mean more accessible healthcare and health facilities for those who could not have access to it before. This would mean higher taxes which is opposed by many Americans. While switching to a single-payer system would be an upgrade from the multi-payer system we have now, it would still lead to the same issues. Hence, the United States should implement a system like Canada where everyone has all the basic things covered, but can choose to upgrade or buy in a private insurance company if they want to. My essay is not going to be very controversial because I think everyone agrees that the American healthcare system is not that great and that it needs to be replaced. I think that most people from what I have read agree that although a single-payer system sounds amazing, it can work in America for many reasons. Therefore, the only way to make sure that everyone agrees that the current health care system needs to be replaced is by allowing people to choose between public and private health insurance. 

  Edward Eichhorn and Michael Hutchinson’s article “Why Medicare-for-All Is Not Good for America” offers options for ways to change the medical system without getting rid of the one we already have. It outlines many of America’s popular concerns about the consequences of universal healthcare. It notes that “the proposal will also reduce one million jobs by eliminating the insurance industry.” Moreover, the article points out that 70 percent of Americans approved Medicare for all when surveyed while 30 percent accepted it as a condition. Two of the alternatives they listed were requiring all employers to provide their employees with health benefits, monitor prescription costs, reduce hospital service fees for outpatient testing, and standardize all fees for imaging and laboratory testing. They stress how medicine will increase taxes for everyone, so it wouldn’t get much bipartisan support. To put it in frankly some Americans don’t want to pay for the treatment of others. Additionally, countries with a universal health care program often have a longer waiting period on average. And countries often combine universal health care with other schemes to put the competition in.

  If universal healthcare was to be introduced, hospitals and physicians would be obliged to have the same low-cost quality of service. 25 percent of Americans have little to no health care. As a result, more than 101,000 of them died last year because they couldn’t bear the high costs of healthcare. This is mostly because the new system requires hospitals to compete, which causes them to be more concerned with making a profit, rather than delivering a great service. Hospitals typically end up investing lots of money on modern and innovative medical equipment Paying physicians fair salaries and providing costly treatment, all in the hopes of attracting affluent clients. A study by a team led by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that higher overall healthcare spending in the United States was primarily due to higher rates including higher prescribing rates, higher wages for doctors and nurses, higher hospital administration costs and higher prices for other medical services.

Thus the best solution to the current problem we have now is to implement both a private and public option. Many of the countries with the best healthcare have a public option that covers the basics while having a private alternative for more complex procedures. Australia, for example, ranked eighth in the Best Health Care System Rank according to a study that surveyed more than 20,000 global citizens from four regions to assess perceptions of 73 countries on 65 different metrics. The Australian healthcare system consists of both The public system and the private system. The public system is made up of several components, including public hospitals, community-based services, and affiliated health organizations largely owned and governed by state and territory governments. While the private system includes health service providers that are owned and managed privately, such as private hospitals, specialist medical and allied health and pharmacies.

Every American would have benefits under Universal Health Care unlike the existing system we currently have. It would also allow more affordable healthcare for those who could not have access to it and access to health services. If universal healthcare were to be introduced, the same low-cost quality of service would be required of hospitals and physicians. So the best solution to the current problem that we now have is to implement both a private option and a public one. Many of the best-care countries have a public option that covers the basics while offering a private alternative for more complex procedures.

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. “Why America Is the Only Rich Country Without Universal Health Care.” The Balance, The Balance, 13 Mar. 2020

The author of this article helped explain the different perspectives people have on universal healthcare and why people might support or disagree with it. 

Anderson, Gerard, et al. “U.S. Health Care Spending Highest Among Developed Countries.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 8 Jan. 2019

The author of this article helped explain why healthcare in America is so expensive. 

Baldacci, Meridian. “Why Single-Payer Would Make Health Care Worse for Americans.” The Heritage Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, 26 Sept. 2018, www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/why-single-payer-would-make-health-care-worse-americans. 

The author of this article helped explain why Universal health would be difficult to implement in America.

Hutchinson, Michael, and Edward Eichhorn. “Why Medicare-for-All Is Not Good for America.”   U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 26 Apr. 2019, 

The authors of this article helped explain why universal healthcare would not work at replacing the current system that we have.

Montgomery, Kelly. “Difference Between Universal Coverage and a Single-Payer System.” Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 22 Feb. 2020

The author of this article helped explain the difference between Universal Coverage and a Single-Payer System. It helps explain why it matters.