Universal Health Care

[captaingeech]

There are many ways to create a universal health care system. Systems around the world include single payer (completely government run) to completely private systems with strict government regulation. In the middle are hybrid systems that have public and private working together. Regardless, we see that other first world countries that have a universal system spend much less than the U.S. on health care, and have longer average lifespans. People seem to agree that the current health bill is not great, whether you're completely against it, or if you think it should be stronger.


HERE'S MY QUESTION: I'm interested to know what people think about Universal Health care in general, and why they support the idea or are against it.

 

[Paula]

At it's core, universal health care is a fantastic concept. High quality, affordable health care for all citizens is a beautiful thought. It's important to understand that opponents of Health Care Reform in the US are not against everyone getting the care they need.

The major disagreement on Health Care Reform lies in the how it will be paid for and executed. Hybrid systems - such as Germany, France and Japan - are currently the best combination of cost and effectiveness. Single payer systems are generally poorly-administered by the government and fraught with waste. The American system needs to be reformed but the amount of time (too little) and money (too much, given the current budget deficit) spent by the administration on this matter is not the right way to go about it.