In Canada, the first universal hospital care plan was established in one province in 1947. In 1957, the Canadian Government passed the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act which provided a framework for the cost-sharing of specific health services. It wasn't until 1984 that we had the Canada Health Act which is the universal health care system that all Canadians enjoy today.
Our system is far from perfect. We have a shortage of nurses, not everyone has a family doctor, rural communities have problems keeping their ERs open 24/7, there are long waits if your illness is not life-threatening, etc. But when our system works, it works beautifully and seamlessly. When a Canadian is diagnosed with an ailment, it is such a privilege and relief to not fear financial burden or ruin just because we are sick and need health care. It should be a universal right.
A wealthy and prosperous nation like the U.S.A. should be able to afford its own universal health care system. In fact, all Americans deserve to have one.
Just an observations about liberals vs conservatives. I think it’s a battle of control. Liberals can handle having a loose leash and conservatives just have to tighten the leash. I’m sure that we all know individuals like that…….
You have to have confidence in your values or else you risk pulling the leash too tightly.
My insurance company gets a kickback from CVS so they discourage me from using any other pharmacy. Walgreens is within walking distance of my home so that’s where I shop. I could get a 90 day supply for my prescriptions if I get them from CVS, but only a 30 day supply if I purchase them from Walgreens. The pharmacist at Walgreens has to constantly contact my PCP and the insurance company to get refills that my doctor has ordered. This is another way for profit healthcare controls us.
I so agree. After leaving a country with socialized medicine, I had a rude awakening coming to the States. We did not have health insurance and the costs to have my second child were extremely high. On top of that, the wait for the physician was the same, if not longer, then when I lived in Canada.
A minimal amount was deducted from our paychecks and we never worried that we would not be able to afford to have our health taken care of. I am also surprised, after living in the States for 47 years, that really affordable care for all has never been instituted. Right now I have to ration my medication, as it is too expensive to have to refilled. I did not opt for Medicare, as too much would be deducted from my social security check. Nevada has other health plans, and the prescription costs are high, but the plan costs about half what Medicare does, even with my prescription costs (rationed).
I am really worried now what will happen when trump is back in office (should never have happened). He has a "concept" for a plan, that never came about in the 4 years he was previously in office. His lies will make our lives intolerable, I fear.
And about administrative costs: every place I’ve worked had an HR person whose main job has helping employees negotiate with the insurance company. In some cases this has taken up 60-70% of that staffers time. Think how much more efficient ALL such organizations would be if they didn’t have to run interference with insurance companies
Myth (from Bill Schneider, RN): Universal Healthcare would destroy our ability to choose healthcare providers, force us to see a different doctor, and force us to wait a long time for necessary care.
FACT: Ironically this is true of our current system. Unless you are very wealthy, private insurance companies dictate which providers you can see and what treatment you can get depending on who is “in” or “out” of network and what services are covered, and they require you to seek referrals or pre-approvals for certain specialists or testing adding unnecessary wait times to receiving care.
One important stat: Most medical care is needed in old age. Medicare covers less than half of the population, but it already handles about 70% of all the costs. So expanding it doesn't mean starting from scratch, it just means adding the other 30 onto the existing 70.
Medicare simply works better than employer insurance in my experience. Employer insurance rarely kept its promises. Medicare doesn't promise everything, but it works automatically and neatly for the items it promises to cover.
Worrying about lost jobs is nice and all but should never be an argument for a system that doesn't work. You wouldn't maintain the illicit drug trade because you don't want drug dealers to loose their jobs? Retraining or making other opportunities might be more productive.
Now there will be a number of for profit publicly held companies with shareholders that will need to be compensated. Somehow freeze the value of the shares and buy them all up? Not sure how that would work but it would be interesting to watch.
I'm a Canadian working for a large US firm in Canada. I have been told that my American coworkers retire later than Canadians so that they can stay on the company insurance because it is deemed to be better than Medicaid. No idea if it's true, it's just what I've been told.
My only experience with universal health care is when my eldest moved to Colombia SA. I knew he sought citizenship after marrying his Colombian bride but I didn’t know he would be eligible for healthcare; and at that time I thought it would be awful healthcare with terrible facilities and long wait times for services. Boy was I wrong. And he got sick and needed major surgery and home care for time after release. Nurses came to the house to administer iv antibiotics once he was cleared to be released. His wife sent photos of his hospital room (and view) and it was normal regular just like here. The surgery was successful. He’s back to good health and he is not filing for bankruptcy.
No arguments from me on any of your points; I fled the US to assure accessible and affordable healthcare for my family. But I do feel that the deeper issue is the culture of greed that pervades many industries in the US--some would simply call it American-style capitalism. It is possible to address the massive issue of public health services without also addressing the cultural envelope in which it has been shaped?
Also, don't forget the Veterans Administration and Indian Health Service when you tally existing beneficiaries of something similar to universal healthcare.
Importantly, let's also not forget that all the examples you point to of government-sponsored healthcare in the US are targets for privatisation by the corporate greed machine and their political surrogates. Expect it to move quickly given the nature of the incoming executive administration.
Outstanding analysis. I've been examining this subject for years. I studied health care delivery systems, health care administration, and health law in grad school, and you've made every point I would make. The fun thing would be to get this message to the DOGE and show them how they actually COULD cut two trillion (over ten years) and not hurt the social safety net.
I am confused though because how then is health care paid for? Is this something the government takes on like Medicare or Medicaid, or do employers pay a certain amount to the government based on number of employees or do taxes go up to pay? I see where you said an employee would actually make more but that still doesn’t address how we pay for a universal plan?
Thank you for another well researched and insightful piece on this subject. And for calling this system what it is: blatant exploitation of the American public by corporate profiteers.
I’ve been writing to exhaustion on this topic for the last week, but as a physician, the subject is much more emotional for me. Resident physicians (funded by Medicare dollars) are being hired by for-profit hospitals because the corporate hospital can add that Medicare subsidy to their bottom line in addition to getting what amounts to the indentured servitude of physicians-in-training.
Physicians are retiring, leaving for different careers, expatriating and dying by suicide because this system is professionally and morally unsustainable.
Open Secrets has a database of political contributions and their recipients. It seems to me that Citizens United was the nail in the coffin for universal healthcare. I wonder how Americans can ever find a way to speak louder than the billions of dollars spent on the purchase of corrupt politicians.
Thank you for writing another sermon to the already converted. I'll keep the column so I can wave it under the noses of those hard nosed 'don't bother me with the facts, my mind is already made up" twits.
Late stage "capitalism, predatory and cannibalistic" specializes in confusion, obfuscation trending heavily toward fraud. Profit is no longer enough; extreme, excessive, corrupt profit is required.
At the end of my 30-year career with the federal government in 2011, I had to make a very expensive choice: continue paying my own BC/BS premiums alone, or cancel and find some other provider. Not wanting to spend a lot of time doing research into insurance, I chose to stay and pay 100% of the expensive premium myself, out of my federal annuity.
It turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
You see, my retirement and decision happened before the ACA was in effect; since then, I have learned that I pay far less than the best program available, AND the benefits of my BC/BS plan are far superior to even the best that ACA had to offer. And now, of course, my cost has risen a bit, but not nearly as much as those other programs.
In Canada, the first universal hospital care plan was established in one province in 1947. In 1957, the Canadian Government passed the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act which provided a framework for the cost-sharing of specific health services. It wasn't until 1984 that we had the Canada Health Act which is the universal health care system that all Canadians enjoy today.
Our system is far from perfect. We have a shortage of nurses, not everyone has a family doctor, rural communities have problems keeping their ERs open 24/7, there are long waits if your illness is not life-threatening, etc. But when our system works, it works beautifully and seamlessly. When a Canadian is diagnosed with an ailment, it is such a privilege and relief to not fear financial burden or ruin just because we are sick and need health care. It should be a universal right.
A wealthy and prosperous nation like the U.S.A. should be able to afford its own universal health care system. In fact, all Americans deserve to have one.
IMO, for profit healthcare is an oxymoron.
Just an observations about liberals vs conservatives. I think it’s a battle of control. Liberals can handle having a loose leash and conservatives just have to tighten the leash. I’m sure that we all know individuals like that…….
You have to have confidence in your values or else you risk pulling the leash too tightly.
My insurance company gets a kickback from CVS so they discourage me from using any other pharmacy. Walgreens is within walking distance of my home so that’s where I shop. I could get a 90 day supply for my prescriptions if I get them from CVS, but only a 30 day supply if I purchase them from Walgreens. The pharmacist at Walgreens has to constantly contact my PCP and the insurance company to get refills that my doctor has ordered. This is another way for profit healthcare controls us.
I so agree. After leaving a country with socialized medicine, I had a rude awakening coming to the States. We did not have health insurance and the costs to have my second child were extremely high. On top of that, the wait for the physician was the same, if not longer, then when I lived in Canada.
A minimal amount was deducted from our paychecks and we never worried that we would not be able to afford to have our health taken care of. I am also surprised, after living in the States for 47 years, that really affordable care for all has never been instituted. Right now I have to ration my medication, as it is too expensive to have to refilled. I did not opt for Medicare, as too much would be deducted from my social security check. Nevada has other health plans, and the prescription costs are high, but the plan costs about half what Medicare does, even with my prescription costs (rationed).
I am really worried now what will happen when trump is back in office (should never have happened). He has a "concept" for a plan, that never came about in the 4 years he was previously in office. His lies will make our lives intolerable, I fear.
In addition to the insurance executives, we need to take on the shareholders. The largest shareholder in UHC is Vanguard Fiduciary https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/UNITEDHEALTH-GROUP-INC-14750/company-shareholders/. Obviously their priority is not actually providing health care.
And about administrative costs: every place I’ve worked had an HR person whose main job has helping employees negotiate with the insurance company. In some cases this has taken up 60-70% of that staffers time. Think how much more efficient ALL such organizations would be if they didn’t have to run interference with insurance companies
Myth (from Bill Schneider, RN): Universal Healthcare would destroy our ability to choose healthcare providers, force us to see a different doctor, and force us to wait a long time for necessary care.
FACT: Ironically this is true of our current system. Unless you are very wealthy, private insurance companies dictate which providers you can see and what treatment you can get depending on who is “in” or “out” of network and what services are covered, and they require you to seek referrals or pre-approvals for certain specialists or testing adding unnecessary wait times to receiving care.
https://www.nysna.org/resources/single-payer-healthcare-myths-vs-facts
Every single accusation from them is a confession. It's all projection.
One important stat: Most medical care is needed in old age. Medicare covers less than half of the population, but it already handles about 70% of all the costs. So expanding it doesn't mean starting from scratch, it just means adding the other 30 onto the existing 70.
Medicare simply works better than employer insurance in my experience. Employer insurance rarely kept its promises. Medicare doesn't promise everything, but it works automatically and neatly for the items it promises to cover.
Worrying about lost jobs is nice and all but should never be an argument for a system that doesn't work. You wouldn't maintain the illicit drug trade because you don't want drug dealers to loose their jobs? Retraining or making other opportunities might be more productive.
Now there will be a number of for profit publicly held companies with shareholders that will need to be compensated. Somehow freeze the value of the shares and buy them all up? Not sure how that would work but it would be interesting to watch.
I'm a Canadian working for a large US firm in Canada. I have been told that my American coworkers retire later than Canadians so that they can stay on the company insurance because it is deemed to be better than Medicaid. No idea if it's true, it's just what I've been told.
"The make bags of glass shards for infants industry employs 1 million people. How dare you want to see them go out of business."
My only experience with universal health care is when my eldest moved to Colombia SA. I knew he sought citizenship after marrying his Colombian bride but I didn’t know he would be eligible for healthcare; and at that time I thought it would be awful healthcare with terrible facilities and long wait times for services. Boy was I wrong. And he got sick and needed major surgery and home care for time after release. Nurses came to the house to administer iv antibiotics once he was cleared to be released. His wife sent photos of his hospital room (and view) and it was normal regular just like here. The surgery was successful. He’s back to good health and he is not filing for bankruptcy.
No arguments from me on any of your points; I fled the US to assure accessible and affordable healthcare for my family. But I do feel that the deeper issue is the culture of greed that pervades many industries in the US--some would simply call it American-style capitalism. It is possible to address the massive issue of public health services without also addressing the cultural envelope in which it has been shaped?
Also, don't forget the Veterans Administration and Indian Health Service when you tally existing beneficiaries of something similar to universal healthcare.
Importantly, let's also not forget that all the examples you point to of government-sponsored healthcare in the US are targets for privatisation by the corporate greed machine and their political surrogates. Expect it to move quickly given the nature of the incoming executive administration.
Outstanding analysis. I've been examining this subject for years. I studied health care delivery systems, health care administration, and health law in grad school, and you've made every point I would make. The fun thing would be to get this message to the DOGE and show them how they actually COULD cut two trillion (over ten years) and not hurt the social safety net.
They’re not actually interested in efficiency. That’s the decoy word they’re using for exploitation.
I am confused though because how then is health care paid for? Is this something the government takes on like Medicare or Medicaid, or do employers pay a certain amount to the government based on number of employees or do taxes go up to pay? I see where you said an employee would actually make more but that still doesn’t address how we pay for a universal plan?
Thank you for another well researched and insightful piece on this subject. And for calling this system what it is: blatant exploitation of the American public by corporate profiteers.
I’ve been writing to exhaustion on this topic for the last week, but as a physician, the subject is much more emotional for me. Resident physicians (funded by Medicare dollars) are being hired by for-profit hospitals because the corporate hospital can add that Medicare subsidy to their bottom line in addition to getting what amounts to the indentured servitude of physicians-in-training.
Physicians are retiring, leaving for different careers, expatriating and dying by suicide because this system is professionally and morally unsustainable.
Open Secrets has a database of political contributions and their recipients. It seems to me that Citizens United was the nail in the coffin for universal healthcare. I wonder how Americans can ever find a way to speak louder than the billions of dollars spent on the purchase of corrupt politicians.
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/unitedhealth-group/recipients?id=D000000348&fbclid=IwY2xjawHF8ThleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdzXl86HB8mmfU4HABncMfaj5YJqmfW-EIRKNICarmT6kxlzj3Qs2baAaw_aem_2ZBFjqJptRJZaDBseGbdVw
Thank you for writing another sermon to the already converted. I'll keep the column so I can wave it under the noses of those hard nosed 'don't bother me with the facts, my mind is already made up" twits.
Late stage "capitalism, predatory and cannibalistic" specializes in confusion, obfuscation trending heavily toward fraud. Profit is no longer enough; extreme, excessive, corrupt profit is required.
Thank you Ruth ❤️✊🏽
At the end of my 30-year career with the federal government in 2011, I had to make a very expensive choice: continue paying my own BC/BS premiums alone, or cancel and find some other provider. Not wanting to spend a lot of time doing research into insurance, I chose to stay and pay 100% of the expensive premium myself, out of my federal annuity.
It turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
You see, my retirement and decision happened before the ACA was in effect; since then, I have learned that I pay far less than the best program available, AND the benefits of my BC/BS plan are far superior to even the best that ACA had to offer. And now, of course, my cost has risen a bit, but not nearly as much as those other programs.
Yup. Best decision I ever made.