Single-Payer Healthcare Is Not the Answer, but here’s a simple solution!
I’ve personally benefited from government health insurance.
I was on medicaid for a few years because my father dropped me from his health insurance without warning. I’m currently uninsured so I should probably prioritize resolving that above writing this, but America first!
So universal healthcare is appealing on the one hand because I would be taken care of by good ol’ Uncle Sam. After-all isn’t healthcare a human right?!
But what else can we claim as a right so that the government will pay for all of it, i.e. education, transportation, communication, food, entertainment, ohh wait so basically everything? Full communism!
And as much as you love Uncle Sam or Uncle Obama, how about Uncle Trump?
Do you want Uncle Trump passing laws or executive orders that dictate the quality of your healthcare? And as much as you may love BIG government when your guy is in office keep in mind that in 8 years the guy you loathe will likely be there.
The root of the universal healthcare argument is such: it will save money and lives.
All we need are a bunch of smart, energetic bureaucrats in Washington D.C. to dictate healthcare regulations for all 350 million Americans.
And then we just need compassionate, forward-thinking congressman and senators to work together to make sure that healthcare is continuously working in the best interest of the people and not let’s say health insurance lobbyists or their reelection. Happily Ever After!
If that doesn’t sound like a fantasy to you then please stop reading. Definitely don’t comment! You’re a lost cause!
It won’t save money.
People lack appreciation for things they get for free, i.e. public bathrooms.
Our doctors and nurses will have to deal with more self-entitled people coming into their facility demanding healthcare because, “My tax dollars are paying your salary!”
This demoralizes the medical community. Nurses and doctors will subconsciously work slower and care less about quality, after all they’re human, even though our current cronyist healthcare system acts as if they aren’t.
To combat this the government will pour more money into this broken system where patients and doctors will have less choice.
Humans thrive on choice and incentives.
The government will pass more regulations to “protect” the patient and try to speed up the process. The government will then pick and choose what it deems a “necessary” operation to save on costs.
When I needed a root canal the government said it was an “unnecessary tooth.”
“Necessary” is subjective.
Will the government say a nose job or a sex change operation is necessary or what about an expensive chemotherapy treatment that has a 10% chance of success to potentially prolong your life for just a few more years?
It won’t save lives.
Universal healthcare tries to take the profit motive out of medicine, but what it really does is transfer the motive away from patient-centered care to “how can I get the most government money from this patient?”
For example, a dentist asked me to do another cat scan because he’d get more money from the government, which would offset the discount he gave me on the root canal.
These are the games that go on with government regulations and they benefit BIG business because they can afford the army of lawyers and accountants to navigate it all while small honest businesses get priced out.
America has the highest quality healthcare in the world (for those who can afford it) because of our innovation. Innovation has a trickle down effect.
Passing universal healthcare will slow down innovation because investing in innovation is risky and if there’s not a high enough payoff because of increased regulation then an investor may look elsewhere to put his $$$.
And so if we had access to a crystal ball that could see these two America’s — one with single-payer healthcare and one with free market healthcare, the latter would have far more technological advancements that could save the lives of the people who would have otherwise died in the socialist scenario.
The solution?
Most regulations are passed with the big insurance companies in mind not the patient or doctor. Remove as many regulations as possible, especially at the federal level.
In addition, people shouldn’t be getting their health insurance from an employer. The government should stop tax-incentivizing it. It’s nonsensical, especially as the labor force becomes increasingly self-employed.
You should shop for your own health insurance just as you would a car or home.
What about those who can’t afford it?
A bipartisan compromise could be in exchange for deregulating healthcare we implement a universal health insurance voucher. Everyone in America would get $386 per month, calculated based upon the national average healthcare cost in 2016, to then be used on health insurance. BOOM.
This strategy ensures 100% coverage while at the same time offering the benefits of a free market, i.e. lowering costs and increasing quality.
This solution offers the best of both worlds, no crystal ball needed.