National Health Insurance:
A Solution Or Not?

Summary:

Is national health insurance the answer to America’s healthcare cost and access crisis? Most other major industrial nations have some type of government healthcare system. Their healthcare costs are lower than the US. Most of them offer healthcare services to everyone. The US has the highest cost of healthcare, and an estimated 47 million people are uninsured.

On the surface, universal healthcare appears to be a no-brainer solution to our crisis. Why would anyone oppose it? Here are the positive and negative factors. Take a look, then decide where you stand.

Characteristics:

The primary characteristics of universal healthcare are:

1. Universal Coverage – Everyone is included, with equal access and services to all;

2. Governmental Control / No Competition – Government directives supersede free markets;

3. Centralized Budgets – Costs are contained through government budgetary controls;

4. Controlled Innovation – Costs are controlled by limiting research and innovation;

5. Rationing of Services – Budgets are enforced by limiting access to services.

National Healthcare Models:

Universal healthcare can take various forms, but all involve governmental control. Two prominent types are the government-owned system, as used by the British National Health Service, and the single-payer system, also known as the Canadian model.

In the British model, the government owns and runs the hospitals. Doctors work for and are paid by the government. Service rules and regulations are established and enforced by the government. Everyone has access and can get services - if they can get an appointment.

The Canadian model permits services through private medical service providers. All are paid by and thus controlled by the government. Service rules and regulations are established by the government. The Canadian system permits no private competition in Canada, even if patients are willing to pay. Everyone has access and can get services - if they can get a doctor and an appointment.

National Healthcare Breakdowns

Both the British and the Canadian models have major problems. Theoretically, national healthcare systems provide better overall service because they offer “free healthcare with universal access to all.” Theoretically. The problems arise in the practical application.

The concept of “free healthcare” invites overuse for all ailments, real and imagined. With universal access and equalized services, major illnesses often get a backseat to the imagined variety.

In every healthcare system, ultimately services are rationed because demand exceeds supply. In government systems, rationing is by bureaucratic edict and control. Under the crushing demand for free healthcare, officials ration services by delaying or denying patient access.

Many Canadians come to the US for medical services they can not get in Canada’s system. Likewise, many Brits have given up on getting timely services in Britain’s healthcare system. They travel to eastern Europe, South Africa, India and the US to get needed surgery or medical services.

In all of these cases, they have chosen to pay out of pocket for medical services they can not get at home.

The British and the Canadian national healthcare models are broken. They can probably help you with a cold or some other common illness. If you have a doctor. And, if you can keep the illness long enough to see the doctor. All it takes is time. But, if you have a life-threatening illness, you may not have time. Without an alternative, you could be out of luck.

American Models Of National Healthcare:

America already has several national government healthcare programs. Our Veterans Administration and military healthcare programs are government-owned and operated plans, like the British system. Our Medicare and Medicaid programs are modified single-payer plans, similar to the Canadian model, that are administered and partially paid through the Federal government. They are operated in conjunction with private insurers and medical services.

Each of these examples is a government controlled healthcare program that is limited to a segment of the population based on age, gender, income or employment. None of them offer healthcare to everyone, so technically they are not universal healthcare plans.

For Many - National Health Insurance Is The Answer:

To those who can not get health insurance due to some pre-existing condition, a government health insurance plan is the answer.

To those who can not afford health insurance, it’s the answer.

To those who embrace the concept of free and universal access to healthcare as a basic human right, it’s the answer.

To those who think that government is always the best way, it’s the answer.

To those who think patients are not capable of making their own healthcare decisions, it’s the answer.

To employers who just want to get the headache and cost of employee healthcare off their desk, it’s the answer.

To those who have never experienced it, it’s the answer.

Or Maybe Not:

How can anyone oppose an answer that’s so obvious to so many? Because, there are those who know government-controlled universal healthcare. Those who have experienced it. They understand that it’s never going to be the answer. Why? Because, in the end, it doesn’t work.

Competition helps control prices and improve quality. The absence of competition does just the opposite. Government-controlled healthcare has resulted in reduced quality of services. It restricts access to services in order to control costs.

Government plans must prohibit competition, because they can’t compete. Government plans must require universal participation, because dissatisfied consumers will choose an alternative that works better. That’s usually any alternative other than the government plan.

Government healthcare plans promise lower costs, free care and open access. They ultimately deliver none of those benefits. To control costs, they put a lid on quality and access. Can that happen in America? Already does with the Veterans Administration, with the military healthcare system and with Medicare.

Will America Get National Health Insurance?

Will we get a national government healthcare plan? Probably. In some form. Initially, maybe similar to Medicare or Medicaid. Later, it will be made compulsory.

In the end, if you want timely access and quality service, you will have to pay extra out of pocket to go outside the government system. Remember Hillary Care? It proposed to criminalize medical services in the US that were outside the government system. Expect that to happen again. So, any alternative medical services may also have to be outside the US.

Ask the British and the Canadians how that works for them. They will tell you that you will be happy to have any quality alternative that you can get to. And, you’ll be glad to pay for it. It will mean quality lifestyle – or life itself.

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