compare and contrasts arguments for and against universal healthcare in the US
The United States’ (US) healthcare system is considered one of the most advanced yet very expensive, especially for Americans without medical cover. This paper will compare and contrasts arguments for and against universal healthcare in the US.
Financial implications of a universal healthcare system (UHS) for proponents are that it lowers the cost for healthcare and administration in the country as the government can make price controls through regulatory measures and negotiations (O’Malley et al., 359). Financial consequences by those against UHS is that healthy people are burdened with the task of paying for the medical care of other people. Also, people with fewer incentives financial tend to stay healthy; therefore, without a copay, people could misuse the health system.
UHS forces doctors and hospitals to offer the same standards of services at low costs as they receive the necessary funding from the government despite being in a competitive industry. This will help in reducing the targets on wealthy individuals for exorbitant profits. However, on the same, UHS has a disadvantage of cutting care by doctors to lower their costs is, they are not paid well by the government.
Proponents of UHS argue that it creates a healthy workforce. This is because preventive care tends to reduce the need to have expensive uses of emergency rooms (Musich et al., 391). Even with a healthy workforce, due to the overwhelming costs on the government’s budgets, this could affect the quality of healthcare being offered and also discourage the staff in terms of the services they deliver.
Providing early childhood healthcare tends to prevent any social costs such as welfare dependency, crime and health issues (Tangcharoensathien et al., 25). By providing health education, families learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Those against the UHS argue that the government could limit services since they might have low success probabilities. Therefore, aspects such as health education might not be prioritized.
Governments can also impose taxes and regulations to guide citizens towards making healthier choices. Regulatory measures make unhealthy drug choices illegal. On the other hand, these regulations due to UHS might allow access to prescription medication that could be controlled but can be purchased over the counter.