Single Payer Health Care System

Health care has been at the forefront of debate and public policy in the United States for decades. Ever since President Theodore Roosevelt proposed health care reform during his 1912 run for president, reform has been a policy position often espoused in American politics (Palmer 1). Certain types of health care reforms have been successfully implemented, such as Social Security in the 1930s, Medicare in the 1960s, and finally the Affordable Care Act in 2010. As the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to provide care for every American, the healthcare law is the closest the United States has ever approached to a single payer system; a health care system that provides universal care to every American. Despite that, current systems within the

While proponents assert the benefits of universal care, opponents of a single-payer health care system contend that the numerous problems reputedly associated with single-payer render the policy ineffectual. One of these purported drawbacks is the rationing of care itself. After examining the evidence, it is clear that single payer health care facilitates the rationing of medical goods and services significantly more than any other system.

Proponents of a single payer system often point to England, Canada, and other Western democracies as evidence of a single-payer health care system’s success, but opponents assert that the so-called “success” is not without faults. Many contend that single payer health care systems have severe unintended consequences. “The False Promise of Single-Payer Healthcare”, by Sally C. Pipes, argues that Canada’s single-payer system is plagued by these consequences. Pipes contends that universal care in Canada leads to lower quality care, long waiting

Even cited instances of more accessible care under a single-payer system are negated by certain findings. Undeniably, rationing occurs within single-payer, but it is worth noting that health care rationing is not necessarily unique to single-payer. Rationing is a distinct and inherent part of both types of health care; however, the rationing that occurs within a single payer system are undoubtedly more profound. Single payer is unique in that it mandates rationing, both implicitly and explicitly, for a multitude of reasons, including budgetary concerns and mandates. Rationing health care in this way will have significant short term and long term ramifications, but the perceived effects are not all speculative. Historically, proposed reforms fail to address the issues that a single payer system brings about, as many so-called “reforms” are just politicized forms of rationing. Furthermore, universal health care policies, such as the Affordable Care Act, implicitly mandate rationing through regulations like economic controls. As such, it is clear that single payer does lead to rationing of medical goods and services, due to the budget shortfalls associated with providing universal