Most developed nations such as Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, South
Korea, and Switzerland provide universal health care to their citizens,
however, the United States has yet to adopt this system (New York
Department of Health, 2011). The question becomes why? There are pros
and cons to universal health care. The cons include large costs to implement
the system and create the processes needed while obtaining resources to run
the new system (Zieff, Kerr, Moore, & Stoner, 2020). Another con includes
the projected higher federal taxes for the population. Many people may
wonder why they are paying more in taxes to pay for someone else’s
healthcare. Lastly, a big argument many Americans make is that they do not
want the government involved in more than is necessary. This philosophy
aligns with the laissez-faire system where there is a free system and the
government does not interfere.
After considering these cons, it is important to note all of the pros of
universal healthcare. First, while there may be large upfront costs for
implementing this system, in the long-term, the economic costs would
decrease as the nation becomes healthier with free access to healthcare
(Zieff, Kerr, Moore, & Stoner, 2020). Aligned with the pro of lowering cost,
the decrease in chronic disease would likely be a benefit of universal
healthcare as Americans are not worried about the cost, insurance hassle, or
access to healthcare and are more likely to seek out help. Additionally,
universal healthcare would work to eliminate some major disparities seen in
access to healthcare as well as quality of healthcare. There are many pros to
universal healthcare that would benefit everyone but the strong argument
against government involvement prevents the implementation of such a
system.
References
New York Department of Health. (2011). Foreign Countries with Universal
Health Care. Retrieved from
https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/hcra/univ_hlth_care.htm
Zieff, G., Kerr, Z. Y., Moore, J. B., & Stoner, L. (2020). Universal
Healthcare in the United States of America: A Healthy Debate. Medicina
(Kaunas, Lithuania), 56(11), 580.
https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56110580
