Universal health care guarantees coverage for all.
The United States is the only industrialized nation without some form of single-payer universal health care system. According to Physicians for a National Health Program, one-third of the average American dollar spent on health care goes toward administrative cost, to the tune of $350 billion dollars per year. Over 45 million Americans---over 15 percent of the population---have no health insurance coverage at all. Many doctors, politicians and health-care experts argue that the United States should adopt a system along the lines of those offered by Canada and leading European countries. There are many advantages to this type of system.
Greater Access to Preventative Care
Universal health-care systems make it free to visit doctors for minor illnesses, which promotes better general health along with early detection and treatment. The result is healthier, more productive workers. The current U.S. system, with its deductibles, discourages this type of medical care. Many Americans wait to get care until they are truly ill, with catastrophic effects. As reported in the 2005 Biennial Health Insurance Survey put out by the Commonwealth Fund, over 25 percent of all Americans did not see a doctor when they were sick, did not have prescriptions filled, or did not follow through with recommended treatment. According to an article in the September 12, 2009 New York Times, around 18,000 Americans die every year due to lack of health care.
Fairer Coverage
Despite claims that universal care would cause rationing of care, which opponents claim does not occur in the present health-care system, universal care will open up care for more Americans. The current system rations care only to those who can afford to pay, which generally means those whose employers offer health benefits. Those Americans whose employers do not provide coverage must purchase private health care, which is expensive, so many choose to go without. Universal health care would give an equal amount of coverage to all, regardless of where they work, and take health care expenses off the shoulders of employers.
Lower Costs
Americans spend more on health care per person than any other nation in the world. A large percentage of the dollars spent on health care go to items that have nothing to do with the quality of care, such as administration, sales and marketing, overhead, billing and executive pay. Single-payer systems in the United States, such as Medicare and the VA system, spend five to eight cents of each dollar toward overhead and administration, as opposed to the 31 cents of every dollar that goes toward these costs in the present for-profit system, according to Yes! magazine and the Physicians for a National Health Program
Better Health
While the United States has the highest health-care costs per person, the overall health of other nations in the world that maintain a universal health system is superior to Americans. According to a list of nations and their life expectancies, the United States ranks 49th in life expectancy, behind most European countries and Canada, which all have universal health care systems. In a 2005 study published in The Economist that measures quality of life, based on several factors including health, the United States ranked 13th. The United States is 9th on Forbes magazine 2007 list of fattest countries in the world behind Pacific Island nations and Kuwait. The United Kingdom came in 28th and Canada came in 35th.
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