IT IS TIME FOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE

 

  1. Under single payer, you get a health care card and you can go to any doctor or hospital in the United States. The doctors are not employees of the government. The hospitals remain in private hands. You get to choose your doctor and hospital.
  2. Right now in the United States, the private health insurance companies ration care. If you don’t have health insurance, you don’t get health care. More than 30 million Americans currently lack health insurance. There are some problems in the Canadian system, but most of what you hear about long lines is health insurance industry propaganda.
  3. Single-payer is the only health care reform that will save enough money to insure everyone. By eliminating the health insurance industry, we save $500 billion a year or more in administrative costs and profits. We then use that money to insure those who lack insurance and fully cover those who are under-insured. Yes, more people will be seeking health care because they will now have insurance. But they will be taking care of medical problems early, thus preventing more costly treatment later.
  4. The drug industry would have you believe that there will be less research and development under a single-payer system. In fact, much medical research is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health. Under single-payer, this would grow.
  5. Drugs will be cheaper under single-payer. When all patients are under one system, the payer wields a lot of clout. For example, the Veterans Administration gets a 40% discount on drugs because of its buying power. This single-payer buying power is the main reason why other countries’ drug prices are lower than ours.
  6. For the majority of Americans, single-payer will cover more insurance than they currently have. All medically necessary care would be funded through the single-payer, including doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, mental health services, nursing home care, rehab, home care, eye care and dental care.
  7. An enlightened single-payer will also result in a sharp increase in public health funding to prevent disease. No more bills. No more deductibles. No more co-pays.
  8. The vast majority of Americans will pay about the same or less than they are paying now. Instead of paying premiums to a private health insurance company, most of us will pay a similar or smaller amount in taxes.
  9. Right now, if you are paying $8000 in premiums for a family of four with a $4000 deductible, your yearly liability is at least $12,000. You will probably pay less than that in taxes to fund a universal single-payer. There will be no deductible. You can see any doctor or check into any hospital in the U.S.

For more information, go to www.citizen.org.