Socialized Medicine versus Free Market Insurance, Pros and Cons –Posted by admin on August 12th, 2009
The reason the free enterprise system works in America is because it provides competition among the participants. In this case, the participants are the health providers and the insurance companies. Without competition, health providers (doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies) could charge whatever they wanted. With competition, the majority of the people are going to seek out the provider who is most cost effective for them.
Another reason this system has worked in America is because it has become the model in this country. Many other countries, including Canada and the UK, who have socialized medicine, wish they had our model. People from all over the world come to America to access our healthcare system, because it is one of the best in the world. We have the greatest medical technology in the world, and we can access it when it is needed. We don’t have to wait for months for cancer treatment or a heart surgery. However, immediate access comes with a price tag.
Even though we have great facilities and doctors, the system is not perfect. We have a segment of the population who are unable to get health insurance because of the cost. The solution to that problem is for insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and to have portability from job to job and from state to state. If they covered pre-existing conditions, they would have more people paying premiums, which would spread out their risk factors so they wouldn’t have to raise premiums to cover them.
Socialized medicine is something our country has never experienced, unless a person’s only access to medical care has been through the Veteran’s Administration, Medicare or Medicaid. My understanding is that many of the state’s Medicaid systems are running in the red, and the Medicare system continues to raise out of pocket expenses for seniors who are already on a tight budget. Most of the people who are on Medicare have paid money out of their paychecks most of their lives, and in return, our government promised to provide them with a health plan when they reached retirement age. Now, they are telling us that system may not last.
I’ve read articles and listened to several video presentations from people who live in a country where they practice socialized medicine. What I hear from those people is that routine care seems to be handled slowly but efficiently, however, specialized care, or medical attention when one really needs it, is rationed. So, while it may sound like a good idea to the people who can’t manage to pay for insurance, it may very well be a disaster for the whole country to be on a single payer system. If congress decides to move in that direction, once that is in place for 2-3 years, there will be no turning it around.
I think it becomes one of those “be careful what you wish for.” We must ask ourselves two things and that is: When has the government ever done anything more efficiently or cheaper than the free market? And, do you want your health care handled like other government offices, such as MVD or IRS?
Sherry Pitsch, Wellness Worx