Single Payer Health Care

Posted in Health Insurance

March 10th, 2009

The health care system in the United States is considered by many to be problematic. There are millions of Americans who can’t afford health care, and health care costs continue to rise, with no sign of ever stabilizing. In fact, health care costs – even for people who have insurance – are one of the biggest causes of bankruptcy in our country today. The problem of rising health care costs continues to worsen. Many people feel that switching to a single-payer health care system is the right solution to this problem.

Single-payer health care means, in essence, that there is only one source of payment for all health care, usually the government. Under this system, you just go to your clinic or hospital for whatever your medical needs might be, and the bill is paid for by the government. This is similar to the universal health care system in Canada, for example.

Obviously, single-payer health care does not mean free health care – citizens of countries with single-payer health care systems pay for it in the form of higher taxes. Overall, however, single-payer health care tends to minimize costs on a broader scale, and increase efficiency.

People who live in countries that provide single-payer health care will often buy supplemental insurance policies to cover what their government’s system does not. This way, people can have all the coverage they need. Additionally, people in single-payer health care systems can opt to go wherever they want for their care, but if for some reason the care they’ve chosen does not fall entirely under the single-payer system – meaning, if their single-payer system does not pay 100% of the costs of a particular service – then they can pay the difference.

In order to learn more about health insurance, single-payer health care, and where the concept stands in the United States today, be sure to speak to a qualified health care professional to hear his or her opinion.