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The United States Should Switch to a Single Payer Healthcare System

I'd like to thank lannan13 for accepting this debate challenge. I will divide my arguments into two sections: a moral case, and an economic case. I will show why single payer is both the proper moral plan as well as the proper economic plan. THE MORAL CASE FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE Health care for all is a moral issue. The United States is the only industrial nation that does not have some type of national health program. While other countries have declared health care to be a basic right, the United States treats health care as a privilege, only available to those who can afford it. In this sense, health care in America is treated as an economic good like a TV or VCR, not as a social or public good.[1] The Uninsured and Underinsured The most vulnerable victims of the current American health care system are the uninsured and under-insured. Because of the high medical and insurance costs, there have been countless needless deaths. Because of the Affordable Care Act, it is estimated that upwards to 50,000 lives have been saved[2]. However, an estimated 20 million people will still be uninsured or underinsured by the year 2020. Compared with the health systems of other industrialized nations, the U.S. system is an outlier in terms of health care cost, access, and affordability. One-third (37%) of Americans went without recommended recommended care, did not see a doctor when they were sick, or failed to fill a prescription because of costs; compared with as few as 4% to 6% in the UK and Sweden. (Cathy Schoen, 2013) Prevent Bankruptcies A Harvard medical study showed that medical debt the number one cause for bankruptcy: “Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical and 92% of these had medical debts over 5,000 or 10% of pretax family income.” (Himmelstein, 2009) Even those who are employed and have insurance are not immune to bankruptcies due to medical debt. Indeed, the same report found that of those whose illness contributed to their bankruptcies, 77% were insured, 60% had private insurance. By the time of bankruptcy, the portion of patients with private coverage had fallen to a mere 54%. (Himmelstein, 2009) Part II: The Economic Case for Single Payer Significantly Reduce Cost The Affordable Care Act (ACA) introduced major reforms to the health care system that will improve the lives of many Americans. However, we must go further to fully solve the healthcare crisis. The U.S. government spent $4,197 per person in 2013 on health care. In contrast, the UK spent just 2,802 per person (Mangan, 2015). Dr. Gerald Friedman, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, found that single payer would save an estimate of $592 billion annually by slashing the administrative waste associated with the private insurance industry ($476 billion) and reducing pharmaceutical prices to European levels ($116 billion). These savings would be enough to cover all 44 million uninsured and upgrade benefits for everyone else. No other plan can achieve this magnitude of savings on health care. (Friedman, 2013) Restore Physician-Patient Relationship and Increase Patient Choice A universal health care system would restore the physician-patient relationship and free physicians from the bonds of managed care and overwhelming paperwork, while still giving patients a free choice of physicians and hospitals. References Cathy Schoen, R. O. (2013). Access, Affordability, and Insurance Complexity Are Often Worse in the United States Compared to 10 Other Countries. Health Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org... Friedman, G. (2013). Funding HR 676: The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act. Retrieved from http://www.pnhp.org... Himmelstein, D. T. (2009). Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007:. The American Journal of Medicine, 1-6. Mangan, D. (2015, October 8). US health-care spending is high. Results are...not so good. Retrieved from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com... [1] http://www.amsa.org... [2] http://www.ahrq.gov... see also https://www.washingtonpost.com...