Regular readers of this blog will know that I do not believe the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) fixed our broken health care system. While it made some improvements and will result in more people being covered with health insurance, it fell far short of what was needed to fix the health care system -- and provide all Americans with accessible, affordable, and decent health care. What is needed, in my opinion, is a government-run single-payer health care system -- something like extending our Medicare system to include all American citizens (regardless of age).An excellent example of a good health care system would be that of Canada -- and it would work well in the United States too. But first, we would need to change our mean-spirited ideas that taxes are bad and health care is not a human right. There are simply some things that government (through taxation) can do better than private interests -- and one of those things is providing health care for all citizens. This has been shown by the health care provided in most other developed nations -- who have government-run and financed systems, and provide better health care to all their citizens for less than half of what it costs in the United States (per capita).
Philip Caper, a Maine physician, has written an excellent op-ed for the Bangor Daily News on this issue. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but here is part of what he had to say:
Many conservatives still characterize Medicaid as “welfare,” and many think of it as such. Presumably other types of health care coverage have been “earned” (think veterans and the military, highly paid executives, union members and congressional staff). We resent our tax dollars going to “freeloaders.” Until the slicing and dicing is ended, the finger pointing, blame shifting and their attendant political wars will continue.
In sharp contrast, our Canadian neighbors feel much differently. Asked if they resent their tax dollars being spent to provide health care to those who can’t afford it on their own, they say they can’t think of a better way to spend them. “Isn’t that what democracy is all about?” I’ve heard Canadian physicians say, “Our universal health care is the highest expression of Canadians caring for each other.”. . .
No other wealthy country relies on the exorbitantly expensive and divisive practice of insurance underwriting to finance their health care system. They finance their publicly administered systems through broad-based taxes or a simplified system of tax-like, highly regulated premiums. Participation is mandatory and universal.
Taxation gets a bad rap in the U.S. and consequently is politically radioactive. Yet it is the most efficient, most enforceable and fairest way to finance a universal health care system. . .
Canada’s tax-financed health care system covers everybody, gets better results, costs about two-thirds of what ours does and is far more popular than ours with both their public and their politicians. There is no opposition to it in the Canadian Parliament.
What’s not to like about that? Oh yes, and the average Canadian isnow wealthierthan the average American. Their far more efficient and effective tax-based health care system ispart of the reason
