The Pros And Cons Of Socialized Medicine

Universal Health Care is defined as the belief that all citizens should have access to affordable, high-quality medical care (Anderson, 2013). Currently there are 46 million that do not have health coverage in the United states and this would drastically increase to 72 million if a health reform was not passed (The Economic Case for Health Care Reform, 2012)Why the United States is the last to adopt this government mandated insurance coverage, is possibly one of the most widely asked question around the nation. This, however; is all in the process of changing and will be completed by 2014 with the passing and implantation of Obama-care. There are three systems or levels of coverage under Universal Health Care; Single Payer, Two-Tier,

Universal healthcare coverage allows individuals to use promotive, preventative, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services (WHO) . Universal coverage fulfills the following characteristics:

A national health care system in the United States has been a contentious topic of debate for over a century. Social reformists have been fighting for universal health care for all Americans, while the opposition claims that a “social” heath care system has no place in the ‘Land of the Free’.

Healthcare should be a right for all U.S. citizens because not only would it drastically lower costs from the current healthcare system for both the individual and the government, but also greatly improve healthcare rankings and satisfy the majority of the population. By expanding coverage to all U.S. citizens, universal healthcare would significantly lower healthcare costs for both the individual and the government. Without a doubt, something should be done to fix the current healthcare system; it is just a matter of what should be done. Over the past several years, the cost of healthcare in the U.S. has risen significantly and does not seem to lower, surpassing “$2.2 trillion in 2007”. Universal Health Care is a "Social Program", not "socialized medicine"; under Universal Health Care, one can choose any doctor(s) or public hospital (A "private" hospital, even in the U.S.A. today, is just that. A hospital that is exclusive to the general population according to the wealth and contacts of an individual. There is no "out of network" doctor, hospital or medical facility in the program.

Some health care costs may be paid by the patient and some health care costs may be covered by the universal health insurance program. There is perhaps no domain of economic activity that has generated more controversy in the United States than health care. In the advanced capitalist world, the United States is the only country within which the market plays a substantial role in the delivery of health care services; all other countries have one form or another of universal, publicly supported health care policies. In other intance if we differ from what is universal health from socialized heatlh. Some people refer to universal health care as socialized medicine. The term “socialized medicine” is primarily used for only in the United States by those who do not support the idea of universal health care(cite). Given the understanding that outside the US, is a different situation saying that the terms most used are universal health care or public health

“That the U.S. health care system is broken and needs to be fixed is widely agreed to be true” (Universal Health Care Opposing Views p 19) is immediately apparent following a brief research of the organization of health care in the nation. There is an inability to control rising health care costs, and the system, although considered the most technologically advanced in the world, is riddled with waste and inefficiency. Year on year, doctors are spending increasingly more time dealing with insurance related administrative work rather than healing patients, there is gross overuse of care because employees view healthcare as part of a work-related benefit package, access to health care is based on ability to pay, and there is constant anxiety caused by the fear of losing employer-sponsored coverage. In contrast, a system of universal healthcare offers free services that are accessible to all, releases doctors from insurance paperwork to focus on healing, removes overuse of care because citizens fund the services through the payment of taxes, and may lead to healthier populations, among other things. Therefore, although vastly different from the current system, one could consider whether the introduction of universal healthcare would be beneficial for the USA?

The United States could implement a universal healthcare program; however, it has yet to be put into effect. The last time it was attempted it was turned down despite the efforts by the Clinton administration. The Clinton

The idea is to create a government-run health care plan that would be an alternative to the private insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, or provide a fallback in markets where insurers have been pulling out. A public option could also be a way to stabilize the exchanges because a government-run plan could be used to enroll the people with the most expensive medical conditions. The private insurers would be more enthusiastic about selling policies because they might have to worry less about losses. Public option is simply a public health insurance agency, typically a government-run agency that can compete with the private insurers. This is sort of a half-way point between single payer and the pre- ACA private market. Almost

How many U.S. families are in thousands of dollars of debt due to the outrageous costs of healthcare? People are steering clear of medical attention that they know they need because they want to avoid this debt that they will inevitably get into. There is a solution for these people that need relief from their physical and financial problems. Socialized medicine is a system in which the government owns and regulates all aspects of the healthcare industry, which gives the common people a chance to get the medical attention they need.

Universal Healthcare means that all individuals can use medical services as preventative, curative, and rehabilitative care when they need it regardless of their income levels. Universal healthcare guarantees that these services are available to everyone. The U.S. is in talks now for a single payer system which would provide health insurance in place of private companies to bring more access to medical to the lower class and the thousands of under or uninsured.

“Universal healthcare" or "universal coverage" refers to a scenario where everyone is covered for basic healthcare services, and no one is denied care as long as they are legal residents in the geography covered. Countries that have universal health care coverage are United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Taiwan. Although all five countries that was discussed in the video “Sick Around the World”, have universal healthcare coverage, each health care policy are uniquely designed to meet the needs of the people.

With a universal health care system, the government would have control and run the system, therefore, the cost of healthcare would be regulated. “A universal health care system would be regulated by the government, so costs overall would be reduced with a more monitored system to reduce inflated costs for tests, hospital stays and procedures.” (Ireland, 2017) When you regulate medical costs, the cost of medical coverage, supplies, and prescriptions are more affordable for everyone.

The differences between a universal healthcare system and a private healthcare system are many. Like anything else, there are strengths and weaknesses to each system. Some of the strengths of the U.S. type of healthcare system are; “choice, responsiveness, availability to customers willing to pay for coverage and control over decisions related to your healthcare (Bolnick, 2002).” The strengths of a universal healthcare system are; “universal coverage, cost control, low overhead costs and you pay a tax based on your earnings (Bolnick, 2002).” Of course, both systems have weaknesses as well. According to Bolnick, the weaknesses of the private systems are; no universal coverage, excessive costs, risk related premiums and challenges to limit costs. The weaknesses of the public healthcare system are; “unresponsiveness, not all

Universal health care, also known as universal health coverage, is a specific type of health care where everyone is provided coverage regardless of his or her income, race, age, pre-existing conditions, gender, or wealth. In other words, as long as one is a legal resident of the region that is being covered, he or she is eligible for universal health care.

I, too, have seen first-hand some of the issues of socialized or universal healthcare. A good friend is from Canada, and she moved to the U.S. before her family. While she was here, her son fell while skiing and severely fractured his leg. He had to stay in the hospital, NPO for 4 days before an orthopedic surgeon arrived to care for him. My friend was livid and powerless to do anything different. She shared with me that healthcare was a major reason for her decision to move to the U. S.