Private Health Insurance vs Socialized Medicine
Many commentators have long called for reform of the American health care system to a single-payer system like those in much of the rest of the Western world. Detractors, however, label such reforms as socialized medicine and warn that the result will be rationed health care. Nearly 46 million Americans were without health care coverage, according to 2007 census figures. Even those who have health insurance coverage can bear staggering financial burdens.
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American Private Health Care
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The American health care system is based on private insurance providers, often sponsored by employers who pick up the bulk of premium costs for their employees. Americans who have health insurance coverage generally have some choice (within designated networks) of which doctors they will see. They also have the option of setting appointments at their relative personal convenience.
The trade-off to this system is cost. According to the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC), health care spending in the United States totaled $2.4 trillion in 2008. That figure has been projected to escalate to $3.1 trillion in 2012 and $4.3 trillion by 2016.
A 2005 study by Harvard University researchers found that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance; however, medical fees contributed significantly to their financial insolvency. A 2008 study cited by NCHC found that 1.5 million American families lose their homes annually due to the high cost of health care.
American Public Insurance
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Many of those who argue against socialized medicine in the United States fail to note that large segments of health care have already been allocated to the federal government through Medicare and Medicaid. Additionally, the Veterans Administration administers health care to millions of American veterans. An attempt by the Bush administration to privatize Medicare and Social Security met with stiff resistance from senior citizens and Democrats--and even some Republicans--and was defeated.
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Medical Tourism
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Medical tourists often find that first-class care is available in developing countries, and that the cost of airfare and hotel is more than offset by the prices of the care they receive once they arrive. Medical tourists from other countries have been drawn to the United States because their private or even national health plans will pay for medical care that is too expensive for Americans. The fluctuation in the value of the dollar has also contributed to the growth of medical tourism in the United States.
Socialized Medicine in Britain
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The health care system in Britain is the closest manifestation to true socialized medicine in the Western World. Nearly everyone (with the exception of the royal family and a few others) is enrolled in the national health care plan. Everyone waits in the same queues for medical procedures.
Two-Tiered Medical Care
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In much of the remaining Western world, basic health care is provided by a single-payer plan, or national health insurance. Individuals may be required to make premium payments for national health care coverage. Some public health plans are supplemented by optional insurance plans offered by private providers, with premiums paid out of pocket by policy holders. This results in a virtual two-tiered medical system. More affluent individuals can skip the waiting periods that poor people who depend on the national plans must endure.
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