The document discusses single-payer healthcare systems and whether one could work in the U.S. It defines single-payer as a healthcare financing system with one source of money for providers. Examples given include Medicare and some country-wide systems. Pros listed are potential savings on administration costs and universal coverage. Cons discussed include the potential for government mispricing and significant changes required. Polls show most Americans favor reform but are split on solutions and tax increases. Overall the conclusion is that a single-payer system could increase access but faces strong political opposition and transition challenges.

1. Would a Single-payer health care system work in the U.S? Vivie H. Wu

2. Definition An approach to health care financing with only one source of money for paying health care providers. The scope may be national, state-wide, or community-based. The payer may be a governmental unit or other entity such as an insurance company. The proposed advantages include administrative simplicity for patients and providers, and resulting significant savings in overhead costs . ( National Library of Medicine )

3. Funding, Administration, Coverage S ingle P ayer H ealthcare : Pay from a central fund Australia Medicare ( universal health insurance ) U.S Medicare ( for senior citizens and the disabled ) Socialized Medicine : Government administration Cuba, Soviet Union, Israel, United Kingdom In the U.S :The Veterans Health Administration, the military health care system, and the Indian Health Service. Universal H ealthcare : C overage for everyone . Canadian Medicare United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS)

4. Pros Single-payer saves lives. Every individual will receive necessary medical coverage, regardless of age, health, employment, or socio-economic status. Single-payer saves money. Reduce paperwork and simplify the billing process, cutting down the administration cost. paper-pushing greatly decreases in frequency and cost . More of each of our dollars that go toward health care would actually be used to care for people's health .

5. Pros Single-payer saves time. Doctors would have more time to care for patients. Patients would have fewer headaches waiting to talk to their HMO to prove their coverage. Nurses would be less frustrated with their work. Single-payer saves choice. P atients could go to any doctor they want . People wouldn't be tied to their current job for the health insurance it provides.

6. Con s Too much entanglement with politics. Political barriers to single payer system are very strong Government can't set every price correctly. Tax burden probably too high for the US. Government isn't really designed for efficient program management. Converting to a single-payer system could be a radical change, creating administrative chaos.

7. Polls 54% of respondents said that "fundamental changes are needed" in the health care system 36% said that "Our health care system has so much wrong with it that we need to completely rebuild it. 57% were dissatisfied with the quality of health care in this country 77% were satisfied with the health care they themselves received. 81% were dissatisfied with the cost of health care 52% were dissatisfied with the costs of their own health care According to a New York Times/CBS News poll in February 2007

8. Polls 65% said that providing for the uninsured was more important than keeping costs down. 95% said that it is a serious problem that many Americans do not have health insurance. 64% said that the federal government should guarantee health insurance for all Americans 。 60 % would pay higher taxes to do so. 43% said that it would be fair for the government in Washington to require all Americans to participate in a national health care plan funded by taxpayers, compared to 48% who said it would be unfair. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll in February 2007

9. Nationwide In the United States, health care reform was a major concern of the Bill Clinton administration headed up by First Lady Hillary Clinton; however, the Clinton health care plan was not enacted into law. President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act which included a prescription drug plan for elderly and disabled Americans.

10. State proposals Several single payer referendums have been proposed at the state level, but so far all have failed to pass: California in1994, Massachusetts in 2000, Oregon in 2002. In 2006, the state legislature of California passed SB 840, The Health Care for All Californians Act, a single payer health care system, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed the bill. California State Senator Sheila Kuehl has reintroduced the bill .

11. Conclusion single-payer health care system could provide universal coverage, give patients free choice of providers and hospitals, and guarantee comprehensive coverage and equal access for all medically necessary procedures. S hifting to a single-payer system could also eliminate oversight by managed care reviewers ; However, too much political barriers and difficulty involved. Converting to a single-payer system could be a radical change, creating administrative chaos.

12. Conclusion

15. Canadian Medicare S ingle P ayer H ealthcare (F und ) Socialized Medicine (Control) U.K NHS Universal Healthcare (Coverage) U.S Medicare

17. Funding & Control Socialized Medicine : a term primarily used in the United States to refer to certain kinds of publicly-funded health care. It can refer to any system of medical care that is publicly financed, government administered, or both, though usage is sometimes inconsistent. The term was coined in the U.S. as a pejorative by word association with socialism and continues to be used to evoke negative sentiment towards public control of the health care system in that country. The term is often used to describe publicly administered health care systems such as the British National Health Service, In the United States, the term is often used pejoratively in political discourse.