Healthcare Crisis And Potential Implementation Of Universal Healthcare In The United States Of America

Healthcare, like many other politically charged topics in today’s climate, elicits an almost involuntary response when brought up. One is almost always either completely for the current system in the United States or is completely against it and wants a complete reform; there are hardly any “centrists” in this regard. I believe that if the United States would implement a healthcare system similar to that of Europe’s or other OECD (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, it would drastically impact our lives for the better. Because, let us be honest, who likes to avoid going to the doctor because of monetary concerns? I’ll give you a hint: No one. NO human being deserves to be denied healthcare just because they cannot pay for it. The typical argument against this (usually by a politically right-leaning individual) is the “tax” or “money” argument, generally going something like: “Why should I pay for someone else’s healthcare if I’m struggling to make ends meet myself?”, and while said point is certainly valid, I like to reply with one of my favorite phrases, “There are no simple answers to complex problems.” This is not to say that we should leave the current system untouched, and not try at all. We have to understand that there will never be a “perfect” solution, but we can start by looking at the current flaws in the United States’ current system; and by incorporating elements from countries around the world, such as the NHI (National Health Insurance) system used in Japan and the NHS (National Health Service) system used in Britain.

Rising healthcare costs in the United States today, is the subject of much contention. The constant bickering between the two main parties on the validity and effectiveness of each other’s proposals discourages the general populations’ otherwise crucial input into said proposals; therefore, leaving would-be progress in a rather state of “limbo”. And while a myriad of factors can be attributed to the rising costs. A common conservative retort to the healthcare “crisis” is: “inflation.” Anyone remotely familiar with economics knows that inflation never really stops, it just slows down (which is why you will find the phrase “adjusted for inflation” regularly) and also knows, that naturally, this results in things such as national debt looking worse than what they are. I mention this because many will bring up this “point” to invalidate any efforts for healthcare reform. There are five main points recognized as the perpetrators for rising costs in healthcare today, and “inflation” is not one of them. The main points, according to the 2017 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study are as follows: population growth, population aging, disease prevalence or incidence, medical service utilization and service price and intensity. Out of the five listed, the latter is more easily controlled by the government. Factors such as rising medical premiums as well as rising out of pocket costs have contributed to a rise of, “…nearly a trillion dollars between 1996 and 2015.”

In contrast to the United States, Japan uses an NHI healthcare system. The Japanese NHI system essentially guarantees all individuals within the country, health insurance and the right to go to ANY hospital to receive medical treatment. And, while not perfect, some of the successes of its implementation have been: “The NHI system used in Japan has contributed to the Japanese people having the highest life expectancy in the industrialized world.” along with, “Each prefecture being responsible for health care planning in its region, which includes controlling the number of hospital beds available and overseeing systems that provide emergency and rural health care.” The United States, on the other hand, relies mostly on privately operated medical organizations who end up, “competing to provide adequate care for less cost.” And while the United States uses the “free-market” system as a “natural” way to keep costs down (which does not always work), Japan attempts to moderate the costs by ensuring that every citizen has healthcare and, in return, collectively paying 30% of the total national cost, this is not fixed though, as exceptions are made for the very poor, the elderly, and children; where they pay less than the 30% — subject to individual conditions. The Japanese government, in order to guarantee affordable payments for all, imposes a limit as to how much a Japanese citizen pays per month as well.

Great Britain’s universal healthcare system (NHS) has also had success in modern times. In the late 1990’s, wait times for medical care in the U.K. were stipulated to be in the months and even years — a national record. It was only after the White Paper was introduced (in which reforms were made to the NHS system), that the system began to be more efficient and look more like the original purpose of its implementation.

There should be a middle ground when it comes to healthcare. Healthcare, I believe, is a human right, just like the ones found in our own Bill of Rights. The world is NOT black and white, nor will it ever be, and there will never be a truly “right” or “wrong” answer/response to anything. The potential to better our healthcare system is there, be via a universal or quasi-universal healthcare system. It is just a matter of us coming together for the common goal of bettering the quality of not just our own lives but that of those our families, neighbors, and strangers. And it all starts by identifying the main flaws in our current system and by implementing elements from other healthcare systems that work from around the globe; ala the Japanese and British NHI, NHS systems, respectively. So, I pose my question to YOU the reader, once more, “Who likes to avoid going to the doctor because of monetary concerns?” The answer should be clear: No one.

Works Cited

1. Dieleman, Joseph L, et al. “Factors Associated with Increases in US Health Care Spending, 1996-2013.” JAMA, American Medical Association, 7 Nov. 2017, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2661579.
2. Nakai, Kiyohito, et al. 'Allocating health care resources: Japan versus United States.' Drug Benefit Trends, Oct. 2008, p. 402. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A189047673/AONE?u=lftla_pultch&sid=AONE&xid=bf5b04e2. Accessed 17 Nov. 2019.
3. Boyle, Seán. “United Kingdom (England): Health System Review.” Health Systems in Transition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21454148, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/135148/e94836.pdf
4. Robinson, Karin J. 'The Universal Health Care Systems of Other Countries Provide Better Care for Less Money.' Universal Health Care, edited by Susan C. Hunnicutt, Greenhaven Press, 2010.
5. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010668219/OVIC?u=lftla_pultch&sid=OVIC&xid=14a186e8. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
6. Originally published as 'Universal Health Care: A Domestic Issue?' EurObama Blog, 5 Feb. 2009.