Create a National Health Care System
Decent health care ought to be abasic right, not something thatdepends on the job you hold. Ourpatchwork health care system ofprivate insurance and governmentprograms simply isnt working.Its time to try what Canadaand most European countriesalready have: a national, government-run health care system. Thesystem would work much likeMedicare, except that everyonewould be entitled to coverage,regardless of age, income or jobstatus. Like Medicare, youd stillpick your own doctor, but thegovernment would get the bill.Weve debated what to do abouthealth care for years, but nothingelse has solved the problem. This isthe only way to solve the problemof the uninsured, once and for all.
What Should be Done?
Create a Medicare-style singlepayer system, where the governmentprovides health insurancefor everyone. Allow patients to get a standardlist of covered healthservices from any doctor orhospital in the program. Raise taxes or repeal existingtax cuts to fund the program. Tie the new health insurancesystem into existing governmentprograms to promote goodnutrition, mental health awarenessand exercise.
Arguments For This Approach
Health care should be a right,not a privilege for those luckyenough to have a good job, or tobe over a certain age. This approachis the only way to guaranteethat everyone gets medicalcare. Countries with national healthcare systems often have goodhealth care at a lower costbecause the government canmake bulk purchases of drugs andcontrol costs. This will actually reduce paperwork.Doctors and hospitals willonly have to deal with one set offorms and one governmentagency, rather than dozens ofprivate companies and governmentagencies, all with differentrules. Any new taxes will be offset bythe savings earned when employersand workers no longer have topay insurance premiums.
Arguments Against This Approach
Under this plan, a governmentbureaucracy tells you what healthcare you can have. In Canada and other countriesits common to wait months forelective treatments or surgery. This will require steep taxincreases. All the health carecosts now paid by private industrywould be taken on by the taxpayers. The Canadian and Europeanhealth care systems are expensiveand those nations struggle tocover their costs without breakingthe budget. Health costs will still be a burdento businesses, which will trade ahealth insurance plan they controlfor a health care tax they cant.
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