by G.L.F. Gammey

Created on: May 28, 2008

Universal health care is a system in which each state pays for the health care of all its residents of a geographic or political entity regardless of their medical condition or financial status. Is this politically feasible? The answer would be no.

Currently there are a few countries that practice this method, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.

Some of the problems that universal health care programs face include a lack of incentive for patients to locate the best possible prices for the best possible services or products available; physicians do not have the incentive to provide competitive care and drug companies' do not have incentives to provide new drugs and treatments; universal health care programs are subsidized by taxpayers which means less money in the civilians pockets; the quality of health in a free health care system deteriorates and the average citizen will become sicker; this program will destroy your privacy because the federal government will now believe that they have a right to dictate what you eat, whether you smoke, whether you exercise, or the activities you take part in like riding motorcycles; and this program destroys your liberty by bestowing power on politicians and bureaucrats who take their orders from the wealthiest such as well-connected health care companies.

Canada

The current health care system in Canada is suffering and may have to be revised. One of the reasons this health care system seems to be inadequate is the failure of the medical care facilities to provide the needed care within a reasonable timeframe.
1.For an ophthalmologist, it takes nearly 25 weeks to receive an appointment
2.For orthopedic care, it takes nearly 21 weeks to receive an appointment
3.For heart-bypass surgery, it takes more than 18 weeks to receive an appointment
4.For a neurosurgeon, it takes over 16 weeks to receive an appointment
5.For a gynecological exam, it takes nearly 12 weeks to receive an appointment
These delays in receiving proper medical care have been attributed to everyone wanting as much health care as he or she can acquire because it is free.

In the 1980s, health care costs came close to tripling in Canada. Therefore, the bureaucrats began rationing supply by closing hospitals, reducing medical payments, and limiting the amount of hours doctors are allowed to spend in surgery.

According to official accounting statistics, the net cost of administering private health care insurance within the United States is approximately

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>