Universal Health Care

The raging debate over healthcare reform in the United States has brought the concept of universal health care to the fore. A universal health care system provides medical coverage to all eligible residents of a political area. Most universal health care covers medical, mental health, and dental care. In most systems, the government pays for the expense of universal health care with additional taxation. Interestingly, the United States is the only industrialized nation without some form of universal health care in place. However, the country continues to move in the direction of socialized medicine, as politicians, medical professionals, and other groups attempt to remedy the plight of the uninsured in the U.S. In what follows, we'll explain universal health care in more detail and discuss its pros and cons.

The Basics

Universal health care systems can assume many different forms. The systems typically vary in the extent of the involvement of the government in health insurance and the provision of care. For example, in the United Kingdom and some Nordic nations, the government is heavily involved in the delivery of medical care. These countries base the access of medical care on the rights of residents instead of the purchase of health insurance. Other countries base their universal health care systems on mandatory health insurance and rates based on income that are paid for by beneficiaries and employers jointly. Alternatively, some countries, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, have maintained a private insurance system, but insurers are heavily regulated.

Advantages of Universal Health Care

Proponents of a universal health care system contend that the government has an obligation to do something about the 45 million uninsured citizens in the U.S. (this figure includes illegal immigrants). Burgeoning health care costs have also made access to quality medical care financially impossible for a portion of the population. Additionally, patients who have pre-existing medical conditions would have access to insurance in a universal health care system. The prospect of free medical care may also encourage patients to seek out preventive care they may avoid in a private health care system because of the cost. This could help to reduce the overcrowding of hospitals by uninsured and underinsured citizens.

Disadvantages of Universal Health Care

Critics of universal health care argue that "free" health care doesn't really exist. Taxpayers would have to shoulder the burden of a centralized insurance system, and the government may have to make budget cuts in other areas in order to pay for the staggering cost of universal care. Moreover, the efficiency and flexibility of patients and doctors will most likely suffer because of the cumbersome regulation that accompanies a universal system.