Search Posts

Universal healthcare pros and cons

Universal health care is a scheme that ensures that all people have access to high-quality medical care. The federal government provides it to everyone, regardless of their financial status. Universal health insurance is a major government expense due to the high cost of providing high-quality health care. So here this article gives the pros and cons of universal healthcare to better understand this topic.

Pros of universal healthcare:

  1. It leads to a longer and healthier life, as well as a reduction in social disparity. When an individual has universal health care from birth.
  2. There are no doctors or hospitals willing to cater to affluent clients. All will receive the same level of care, resulting in a larger population and a longer lifespan.
  3. Overall health care expenses are reduced when the government negotiates and regular rates.
  4. Doctors only have to deal with one government agency, which cuts down on administrative expenses. Doctors in the United States, for example, deal with insurance companies four times as much as doctors in Canada.
  5. It simplifies the whole system. It leads to higher economic productivity.
  6. The most obvious advantage of universal health care is that everybody has access to health insurance and medical services. Thus, no one goes bankrupt because of medical bills.
  7. Companies should concentrate entirely on running their company instead of worrying about offering health care to their workers. Encouraging entrepreneurship is also a benefit of universal healthcare. Employer labor costs will be reduced by around 10% as a result of this.
  8. It promotes good health care for children and treatment. it can be done at an initial state before they become chronic.
  9. Removes disparities; everyone, regardless of social or financial status, has the same insurance plan.
  10. The government may uses laws and taxes to encourage people to make better decisions. Regulation makes risky like narcotics illegal, cigarette and alcohol taxes.

Cons of universal healthcare:

Important cons of universal healthcare:

  1. People have fewer finances to remain safe if they don’t have to pay a copay. People may overuse emergency rooms and doctors if they don’t have to pay a copay.
  2. Elective procedures can have long wait times. The government prioritizes basic and emergency medical services.
  3. Since there is no financial consequence, people are less concerned with their health.
  4. The government’s cost-cutting efforts can result in a reduction in treatment options. Many in-house blood testing laboratories would be forced to close due to Medicare reimbursement cuts, according to doctors.
  5. Government budgets are heavily reliant on healthcare spending. Health care accounts for almost 40% of provincial budgets in Canada.
  6. The government can impose restrictions on services with a low chance of success. This includes costly end-of-life treatments and medications for rare diseases. In the United States, one-fourth of the Medicare program is spent on patients in their final six years of existence.
  7. There is no such thing as an ideal plan. Due to mutual understanding among doctors, their families, close friends of doctors, and some influential people. They are often able to get faster care.
  8. Many dual citizens will spend their entire lives working in another country. But will return for free treatment when they need long-term care.

Some other cons of universal healthcare:

  1. Access to certain procedures or drugs can be limited. This system will opt for palliative care.
  2. In most cases, dental and vision services are not provided by universal health care. Those must also be purchased.
  3. Doctors are often overburdened by more patients than they can legitimately accommodate, compromising the precision and consistency of patient care.
  4. Even if their conditions are self-inflicted, smokers and alcoholics receive the same care.
  5. It would result in mass unemployment for millions of Americans. Who are directly or indirectly employed in the medical insurance industry?
  6. When compared to a free market environment, innovation will lag. In the long term, this results in a shortage of specialist physicians.

Thank you for reading this article. If you have any queries regarding our article on the pros and cons of Universal healthcare then do comment in the comment section below.

 

Explore more information:
  1. Advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine
  2. Pros and cons of telehealth
  3. Pros and cons of telemedicine

Author Profile

Divya Chauhan
Divya Chauhan is an expert writer with 10+ years of experience as a content writer. They specialize in making complex topics like IT, Health, and general topic easy to understand. Divya has written over thousands of articles to help people with their content. Prior to joining Way2benefits’s editorial team in 2020, Divya worked as a Professor of BCA college and freelancer blogger.

Related Posts