A 2002 Institutes of Medicine study found that 18,000 Americans die annually due to a lack of health coverage.
The majority of the issues debated in discussions on national health care relate, in one way or another, to the costs and quality of care. There are many countries with longstanding national health care plans that can be looked at for evidence of some of the effects. However, many of these may not be applicable to the U.S., because the U.S. took the unprecedented step of creating a national health insurance system that keeps health insurance companies as a major component of health care.
Quality of Care
Some are concerned that quality of care will suffer or that health care will be rationed under any national plan. It is true that under many national plans that new, experimental or particularly expensive procedures are not covered by national health insurance. In many cases, these procedures are still available but are not covered by insurance, or are covered only on an emergency basis, due to costs. It is also true that in some cases, procedures and treatments may be postponed under national health plans. This generally happens only only in non-emergency, non-life-threatening cases. If it's not an emergency situation, patients may be asked to wait for procedures and treatments. It should also be noted though that in countries without national health insurance, these same procedures and treatments are also not available to those who cannot afford them or get approval for them from insurance companies.
Uninsured
In the United States, as in most countries debating national health care, the uninsured are put forward as the primary reason for implementing national health insurance. Having people suffer because they don't have insurance is tragic. In most cases, though, even those without health insurance will seek medical care and that care must be paid for by someone. For individuals who don't have the means to pay for the care themselves, the costs must be absorbed by doctors, hospitals or government.
Preventative Care
One of the goals of most national health care plans is to prompt individuals to practice preventative medicine. Disease and injury prevention typically costs a small fraction of what disease and injury treatment costs. It is hoped that individuals with health care will be more likely to get regular checkups, and that doctors can steer them toward healthier lifestyles and disease prevention. It is also hoped that when health care is government-funded that government will have an increased interest in promoting public health. In countries with government-funded health care, the "sin taxes" on products associated with health problems, such as alcohol and tobacco, are higher. Whether or not it is due to preventative medicine and national health care, the United States currently ranks 50th in the world in terms of life expectancy. This puts the U.S. significantly behind many countries with national health care, such as Japan, Canada, Australia, the UK and the European countries.
Costs
The cost of health care is a constant debate in countries with national health care as well as those without it. One of the goals of most national health care is to reduce health care costs by a combination of controlling costs through negotiations with health care providers and pharmaceutical companies and by eliminating the profits of insurance companies and the costs incurred by medical providers in dealing with insurance companies. Because the new U.S. system has opted to keep the insurance companies, it is unclear how this will impact costs. As of 2004, though, the U.S. was paying more for health care, as a percentage of GDP than most developed countries. There is no such thing as free health care; health care costs are paid for by patients, insurance companies or taxpayers. The arguments with regard to national health care revolve around who pays, when and how much.
Tags: health care, national health, national health care, health insurance, insurance companies