According to the World Health Organization, universal healthcare is defined as “[ensuring]
that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion,
treatment, rehabilitation, and palliation) of sufficient quality to the effective while also
ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user [to] financial
hardship”%(Zieff et al., 2020). With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, health care
coverage was extended to millions of Americans, however, there is still a mix of private
and public insurers greatly involved in this process.%The idea of universal health care is a
highly contested issue in the United States. There are various factors that can impact an
individual’s access to health insurance in the United States including socioeconomic
status, employment status, race, sexuality, gender, and ability to pay.%Globally, there are
various iterations of universal healthcare which could successfully serve as guidance if the
United States were to implement a single payer model. Universal healthcare in the United
Kingdom is traditional in the sense that it is mainly comprised of minimal options and
there is rare use of private insurance (Zieff et al., 2020). Meanwhile, universal healthcare
in European nations is a mix of governmental and market sponsored options (Zieff et al.,
2020).
Although there are governmental programs in place that currently provide health insurance
coverage to children, elders, and citizens with limited incomes, there are still many
Americans who believe that the government should have a limited role in healthcare. The
cultural, ethnic, political, socioeconomic, and religious composition of the United States
could make implementation of the universal health difficult compared to its counterparts.
Additionally, adversaries to the implementation of universal healthcare note that the
upfront costs and associated tax increases would be unjustified. Zieff et al., note that
implementation of universal healthcare could result in a 7.5% payroll tax increase in
addition to a 4% income tax increase absorbed by all Americans (Zieff et al., 2020). Those
who opposed the extension of coverage to all citizens also argue that this would decrease
access to care, increase wait times for services/procedures, and have a significant impact
on the quality of care delivered (McFarlane, 2021). Although universal healthcare will
continue to be a highly contested topic, it is agreed upon that there is certainly the need for
further reform within the system to improve its current barriers and inefficiencies.
%
Reference
McFarlane, G. (2021, August 7).%The Drawbacks of Single-Payer Healthcare.
Investopedia. Retrieved from%https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-
finance/112713/drawbacks-singlepayer-healthcare.asp
Zieff, G., Kerr, Z. Y., Moore, J. B., & Stoner, L. (2020). Universal Healthcare in the
United States of America: A healthy
debate.%Medicina,%56(11).%https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56110580
