For a long time, I have been a firm advocate for universal health care, a system like public education. You pay your taxes and your K-12 education (or health care) is free. It has always seemed odd to me that we can go to school free but we have to pay out-of-pocket for medical care.
We have something close to the ideal with Medicare, which we limit to seniors. Why shouldn’t it be available to everyone? As it happens, there is an effort in Congress, led by Senator Bernie Sanders for a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system. Many Congresspersons—118 Representatives and 18 Senators—currently support this bill.
In the latest Harvard-Harris Poll, 52 percent of Americans favor a single payer system, something all the industrialized world has, except the United States. Perhaps more Americans would prefer such a system if they knew more about it. Below I use Public Citizen’s list of myths and lies about single-payer to discuss some of the issues.
Myth 1: Single-payer is government-run health care. False. That would be the Veterans Administration or the British health care system, where the government funds the doctors and hospitals. Under single-payer, you get a health care card, and you can go to any doctor or hospital in the United States. They are not employees of the government. You get free choice of doctor and hospital.
Myth 2: Single-payer will lead to rationing, as in Canada. False. Right now in the United States, the private health insurance companies ration care. If you don’t have health insurance, you don’t get health care. More than 30 million Americans currently lack health insurance, and that is why 100 Americans die every day from lack of health care. There are problems in the Canadian system, but most of what you hear about long lines is health insurance industry propaganda. Zero people die every day in Canada due to lack of health insurance.
Myth 3: Costs will skyrocket under single-payer. False. Single-payer is the only health care reform that will save enough money to insure everyone. By eliminating the health insurance industry, we can save at least $500 billion a year in administrative costs and profits. While it is true that more people will seek health care because they will now have insurance, they will tend to take care of medical problems early, thus preventing more costly treatment later.
Myth 4: Single-payer will cover less than the insurance I have now. False. For most Americans, single-payer will be a vast improvement. All medically necessary care would be funded through the single-payer, including doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, mental health services, nursing home care, rehab, home care, eye care, and dental care. There would be no more bills, no more deductibles, and no more co-pays.
Myth 5: Single-payer will cost me more than I’m paying now for private health insurance. False. The majority of Americans will pay about the same or less than they are paying now. Instead of paying premiums to a private health insurance company, most of us will spend a similar or smaller among in taxes.
The bottom line: with single-payer every one has health insurance and the total cost is less than what the current non-system costs.