Answer 5 question from documentary film 58 mins and replay to one discussion post

Discussion Post

 

   At the beginning of the documentary it came as no surprise that often people find out too late or when they are already sick that their health coverage is not good enough. My dad suffers from serious cardiac complications, and the insurance that we have does not nearly cover all of his medical expenses. It becomes very difficult to pay for the outrageous fees that come along with his illness. I was aware that most Americans gain health coverage through their employer, because that is how my family receives health coverage.The statistics presented throughout the documentary were new information to me. For example, I was unaware that there are approximately 40,000 unnecessary deaths due to a lack of health insurance. These deaths could have been prevented with adequate health care, which is why I feel that it is so important to fix this. I also did not know what a single-payer healthcare system was prior to watching this film. This was a very informative video that helped me understand some of the flaws in our health care system and how different our system is from other nations. 

   A single-payer healthcare system is a less confusing and a more efficient system in which one entity pays the bill. It is a comprehensive and simplified way to reduce costs and improve the quality of care that people receive. This differs from the current system in place in the United States in which there are multiple complicated insurance plans, that many do not understand. Not every hospital or doctors office accepts all health insurance, which makes it difficult for individuals seeking care. With the single-payer system there is one plan that covers everyone. Moreover, our current healthcare system is very complex and a single-payer system offers less confusion and more cohesiveness. 

   This system would have a positive impact on how people use healthcare. As stated in the documentary, Americans go to the doctor around 4.2 times a year whereas Japanese go approximately 13 times a year. I believe that having  a single-payer system would promote more people using medical services instead of deferring it due to the high cost. This is beneficial because we can catch illnesses before they become a bigger problem to the individual and society as a whole.This ultimately will reduce the amount unnecessary deaths, increase our life expectancy rate and prevent the spread of disease. Having accessible health care to all Americans would put us at a great advantage. Not only would money be saved but lives would be saved.

   Personally, I think that a single-payer healthcare system in the United States would offer benefits. One third of Americans are not receiving the healthcare that they need. Due to the costs of medical care, Americans are much more likely to defer care. 84,000 lives a year could be saved if the United States lowered its preventable death rate. Even though Canadians spend half as much on a person with their single-payer health care system, their life expectancy rate has increased faster than ours. In Canada the life expectancy is 82 years old, in the United States it is 79 years old. The statistics show that not only can we save money but we can save lives. Furthermore, a single-payer system is beneficial economically in that we would save an approximate total of 710 billion dollars a year. A single-payer healthcare system reduces waste and with that money we save from the waste we could be spending more on care for those in need. In other words, people will be spending less but receiving more care and for that reason I do not think that switching to a single-payer system would be a mistake.