If we were to socialize medicine it would give the government control over our healthcare system, and ultimately this will result in raised taxes, longer wait times, and a decrease in the quality of care given. It will create no competition within our health care system that currently enables us to access the best quality of care in the world. Socializing medicine will also cost money, and with the state that the US economy is currently in, it will not be a good idea to add billions of dollars to the deficit. Raised Taxes.
Free health care isn’t really free, because the government has to pay for it somehow. Americans will end up paying more in taxes, and many Americans don’t feel comfortable paying for the health care of someone who doesn’t work at all. The government health care system is already in bad financial shape, and many of the state’s Medicaid and Medicare systems are loosing money. Our government promised to provide medical care for people who have reached retirement, and frequently seniors still have to pay out of pocket to receive care.
These people have paid money out of their paycheck their whole lives for a program that may not even last. “Medicare is financed via a giant Ponzi scheme that is doomed to collapse, dependent citizens cling to the notion that medical care is a right. The so-called social contract between generations is in reality an inter-generational socialist scam. Yet, in a plea for magical thinking, dependent citizens have been led to believe that somehow enough savings can be found in a program facing insolvency to finance medical care for millions of uninsured citizens” (Huntoon, 2009).
No competition Countries that have socialized medicine like Canada or England, the health care workers are employees of the government. Government workers have fewer incentives, set hourly schedules, and fewer promotional opportunities. In the private sector, workers can receive large raises, earn promotions, and can work overtime. This creates competition for health care workers to become better at their occupations or even go into a specialty. A lot of people fear that if America does socialize medicine, the competition for greatness will be gone.
Specialties would decrease, and people would reconsider even going into the medical field. People will no longer be able to choose the best doctor, because the government would regulate it all. Longer wait times Currently, the wait times in American are already out of control. Most people wait hours in the emergency room or the doctor’s office (even if you have an appointment). Can you imagine what it could be like if we were to socialize medicine? When health care is extended to everyone, access to family doctors and specialists will become limited, due to too many patients and not enough doctors.
Decrease in Quality Using tax revenue to provide health care to all Americans amounts to socialism, and would decrease the quality and availability of health care for those who work hard to get medical coverage. It is not the government’s responsibility to guarantee health coverage. When the government controls health care, they also control how to handle patients, from what prescriptions they can assign to what surgeries they can perform. Take Canada for example, they have a limited number of surgeries they can perform per year.
So, if a lot of people have heart problems that year, and you need heart surgery, you might be out of luck because of the limits emplaced. Patient Confidentiality The US health care system is the “most responsive” in the world to non health aspects of care, including patient confidentiality, consumer preference, short wait time for elective procedures and it also ranks high in medical technology availability (ProCon. org, 2012). If socialized medicine is put in place, patient confidentiality will likely be compromised due to centralized health information being maintained by the government.
This would be another way the government would have access to citizens information that should be private. What people for socialized medicine will argue 45 million Americans do not have health insurance coverage, and the US is one of the only countries that do not provide health care for its citizens. If America were to socialize medicine it would mean people would no longer be denied access to health care, because of income or for pre-existing conditions. Health care would essentially be “free” for everyone.
Under socialized medicine, the government would be able to use a centralized system that would ultimately save billions of dollars in overhead. The centralized system would also make it easier for doctors to diagnose and treat patients. They would have access to a patient’s complete medical history, and would have more accurate information to make a proper diagnosis (Messerli). An opponent may also argue that our current health care system is rewarding doctors for the quantity of care given to patients, rather than the quality of care given to patients.
Under a socialized system, doctors can concentrate more on the quality of care, and focus more on healing the patient, rather than worrying about how they are going to make the most money. Currently, health care costs are incredibly inflated and those who set costs in the health care sector basically have free run over the system. Even though this has increased competition, and has allowed for better medical technology and service, there are still too many Americans who suffer because they have no access to medical care.
The government should have some regulations that will be able to protect consumers, and allow them to have access to health care, but giving the government complete control over our health care system, will only create more problems in the long run. Countries that currently practice socialized medicine have long wait times for basic routine care, and when one really needs specialized care, it is rationed. In the end, we will be sacrificing the quality of care we receive in America, and we ultimately we will still have to pay for it. References Huntoon, L. (2009) Freedom and DEATH in Medicine.
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 14(4). Retrieved from http://www. jpands. org/jpands1404. htm Messerli, J. (n. d. ). Should the Government Provide Free Universal Health Care for All Americans? Balanced Politics. Retrieved from http://www. balancedpolitics. org/universal_health_care. htm Pitsch, S. (2012). Socialized Medicine versus Free Market Insurance, Pros and Cons. Wellness Worx. Retrieved from http://wellnessworxonline. com/24/socialized-medicine-versus-free-market-insur ance-pros-and-cons-%E2%80%93/ ProCon. org, (2012). Right to Health Care ProCon. org. Retrieved from http://healthcare. procon. org/.