Insurance Vs Universal Health Care

The United States currently abides by the Affordable Health Care Act’s legislation to provide millions of Americans affordable health care plans. Unfortunately, some individuals have struggled to pay for either the premiums that are offered by insurance companies or the penalty fee that is issued for not having any form of insurance. However, if changes are made to increase tax rates, free universal health care can be provided to all citizens.

Under the Affordable Health Care Act, a marketplace consisting of many insurance providers is made available to the public. People can then narrow their insurance options based on their annual income, family size, and other factors. Once an insurance plan is chosen, a person must pay for his insurance

n.p.). The core of the United States’ spending focuses on the one’s own expenses for appointments, medication, and usage of medical equipment that may not be covered entirely by one’s insurance, given that a person has coverage to begin with. Americans are also faced with having less physicians than other countries, contributing to less visits to a doctor. Countries such as Switzerland and Denmark have about four physicians per every thousand people while the United States only has about 2.6 physicians by the same ratio (Squires, et al. n.p.). Americans have four doctor’s visits per year while Canadians have about eight visits and the Japanese have about 13 visits (Squires, et al. n.p.). With the demonstration of fewer visits to physicians and fewer available doctors between universal health care countries and the United States, universal health care countries put the United States’ medical insurance system to

However, the majority of funding for their respective systems come from increased tax rates. In Britain, civilians are taxed 40 percent of their income with 15 percent being dedicated to health services (Savedoff n.p.). In Sweden, the income tax is 58 percent with 11 percent of the taxes being spent on public health services (Savedoff n.p.). The reasoning for establishing certain health care systems is influenced by the region and its’ customs. Sweden, for instance, “considers health care a moral right” (Baribault, et al. n.p.). In turn, Sweden relies on welfare programs provided by high taxes to provide for its residents. The opposite can be perceived from the United States, as the United States “has shown that the ethos behind health care does not exist” (Baribault, et al. n.p.). This association demonstrates how the privatization and competition of insurance companies has been able to flourish in the United