Universal Medical Care in the United States

SamRatan1 April 03, 2010

The US has taken a giant step in providing universal health care for its citizens, but amidst the rejoicing, it would help the protagonists to look at the experience of other nations who have been providing universal health care for many decades. “Poena dare” Latin “to pay the penalty” is something we will be often confronted with as we get down to the nitty-gritty of what care to provide and how to finance it.

Some countries provide health care financed out of tax income others expect citizens and employers to share premium expenses and some put the entire burden of paying premiums and even part of the expenses on the individual, with the caveat that insurance firms are obliged to provide basic coverage to everyone. Each system has its advantages and disadvantages. Some, such as those that require no personal contribution and are financed by tax income, have elements of strong rationing of services, where one will have to wait for months if not years for treatment. Others have increasingly passed on the expenses to the insured, where some of these added expenses can lead to financial debility.

The commonality that all these systems share is the increased cost of providing health care and the unpleasant fact that unless these costs are reduced either the government steps in and further subsidizes expenses or the insured bear a greater share of the expenses. We are already faced today with a dilemma that will become even more acute in the years to come. Faced with the unpleasant issues of life style, eating habits and general way of life and the way these directly influence our health – let alone the far greater issue of genetic preponderance, we will have to define what is considered to be acceptable and what is exceptional and requires to be charged extra. The airline industry uses an euphemism for one factor with the term “passenger of size”.

If one wants to buy a branded bag from Hermès, one must be willing to pay for it. And with medical care, here begins the fine line between what is essential and can be financed and what is not included. Health insurers are not necessarily demons in this game and we all represent our own interests.

Open societies must be willing to discuss and contemplate the issues at stake here and be willing to face some unpleasant truths. Otherwise the issues that we sweep under the carpet will come back to haunt us and prove those nay-sayers, who willingly had their grandmas smothered under those tea bags, right at the end.

Tags: Health Care , Insurance Premium , Health Expenses , Tea Bagger