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Many people such as Bernie Sanders advocate for single payer. They believe that since healthcare cost are too high that government should cover costs. In 2016, each American spent, on average, almost $10,000 on healthcare, which is the highest in the world. Supporters of single payer say that the reason the US has the most expensive healthcare is because there are several payers such as employers, insurance providers, and government in the form of medicare and medicaid. They advocate that government should take on all of the costs of paying for healthcare.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita
Opponents often cite the cost of single payer. In 2016, the federal government spent $1.38 trillion on healthcare, mostly from medicare. There is no official number for what single payer would cost per year but they range from $1.38 trillion by Sanders to $2.8 trillion by the committee for a responsible federal budget; other cost estimates were $2.4 trillion and $2.5 trillion by Kenneth Thorpe and the Urban Institute respectively.
How expensive would a single-payer system be? | PolitiFact
To pay for single payer, supporters often advocate taxing the top 1% which has over a third of America's wealth. The average income for individuals in the top 1% was $717,000 in 2012 and the US population was 314 million (3,400,000 were in the top 1%) that same year. Doing the math, the total income of the top 1% came out to $2,251,380,000,000 (approximately $2.25 trillion) in 2012. Assuming the higher numbers, single payer would cost almost double of what the federal government currently pays for healthcare. And based on how much the NHS spending has increased since its inception in 1948, the cost of single payer in the US would likely rise in the coming decades.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneyw...rage-america-vs-the-one-percent/#1b21e72d2395
Why Sanders?s Single-Payer Plan Would Cost More Than His Campaign Says
https://www.urban.org/research/publ...federal-and-private-spending/view/full_report
https://www.ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/fiscal_facts/public_spending_survey/health_spending
Advocates also say that single payer is cheaper in countries which actually have it. Opponents then say that single payer leads to waiting periods and to their credit, it is a major problem in Canada. In 2016, 63,000 Canadians went abroad for health care. Although these people exist, they make up a small percentage of the population of 36.29 million that same year.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/63-00...reatment-last-year-fraser-institute-1.3486635
But are these really the only two options? Is US health care really the result of free market? Sure the US healthcare system has its problems but so does single payer.
In truth, there are many regulations on health insurance. Health insurance providers are prohibited from charging more for pre existing conditions and everyone must have health insurance or they pay a fine. Employers in the US are often mandated to provide health insurance, even though the practice originated in WWII to get around price controls. After WWII was over, the practice became so widespread that it remained. Eventually, government got the idea to mandate employer insurance in the form of payroll taxes in the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Insurance_Contributions_Act_tax
In comparison, there isn't nearly as much regulation on car insurance. While most states require people to have car insurance to legally drive, this typically only applies to bodily injuries and property damage to a third party. In addition, car insurance companies are allowed to charge differently based on conditions such as age, occupation, gender, and the history of car accidents which a person has been in. When it comes to most types of insurance, the stuff they cover has price transparency, not so with health insurance.
Another driver behind rising healthcare costs has to do with pharmaceuticals. The FDA's slow approval process combined with drug patents (lasting 20 years) causes medication to be more expensive.
A possible solution to rising health care is to regulate health insurance no more than other insurances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita
Opponents often cite the cost of single payer. In 2016, the federal government spent $1.38 trillion on healthcare, mostly from medicare. There is no official number for what single payer would cost per year but they range from $1.38 trillion by Sanders to $2.8 trillion by the committee for a responsible federal budget; other cost estimates were $2.4 trillion and $2.5 trillion by Kenneth Thorpe and the Urban Institute respectively.
How expensive would a single-payer system be? | PolitiFact
To pay for single payer, supporters often advocate taxing the top 1% which has over a third of America's wealth. The average income for individuals in the top 1% was $717,000 in 2012 and the US population was 314 million (3,400,000 were in the top 1%) that same year. Doing the math, the total income of the top 1% came out to $2,251,380,000,000 (approximately $2.25 trillion) in 2012. Assuming the higher numbers, single payer would cost almost double of what the federal government currently pays for healthcare. And based on how much the NHS spending has increased since its inception in 1948, the cost of single payer in the US would likely rise in the coming decades.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneyw...rage-america-vs-the-one-percent/#1b21e72d2395
Why Sanders?s Single-Payer Plan Would Cost More Than His Campaign Says
https://www.urban.org/research/publ...federal-and-private-spending/view/full_report
https://www.ifs.org.uk/tools_and_resources/fiscal_facts/public_spending_survey/health_spending
Advocates also say that single payer is cheaper in countries which actually have it. Opponents then say that single payer leads to waiting periods and to their credit, it is a major problem in Canada. In 2016, 63,000 Canadians went abroad for health care. Although these people exist, they make up a small percentage of the population of 36.29 million that same year.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/63-00...reatment-last-year-fraser-institute-1.3486635
But are these really the only two options? Is US health care really the result of free market? Sure the US healthcare system has its problems but so does single payer.
In truth, there are many regulations on health insurance. Health insurance providers are prohibited from charging more for pre existing conditions and everyone must have health insurance or they pay a fine. Employers in the US are often mandated to provide health insurance, even though the practice originated in WWII to get around price controls. After WWII was over, the practice became so widespread that it remained. Eventually, government got the idea to mandate employer insurance in the form of payroll taxes in the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Insurance_Contributions_Act_tax
In comparison, there isn't nearly as much regulation on car insurance. While most states require people to have car insurance to legally drive, this typically only applies to bodily injuries and property damage to a third party. In addition, car insurance companies are allowed to charge differently based on conditions such as age, occupation, gender, and the history of car accidents which a person has been in. When it comes to most types of insurance, the stuff they cover has price transparency, not so with health insurance.
Another driver behind rising healthcare costs has to do with pharmaceuticals. The FDA's slow approval process combined with drug patents (lasting 20 years) causes medication to be more expensive.
A possible solution to rising health care is to regulate health insurance no more than other insurances.