What is single payer healthcare?
Single payer healthcare is a system of healthcare provided from a single fund, usually the Federal government, and is often referred to as universal healthcare.
How does it work?
By taking tax revenue from employers and individuals, the system distributes the proceeds such that everyone in a particular population, usually city or state, has health insurance coverage, including those that are currently uninsured.
Coming soon to a state near you...
Quite possibly. Healthcare is one of the most important concerns of Americans today, and has been a discussion point for all the presidential candidates. In Minnesota, a single payer health insurance plan was advanced in the state legislature. (Star Tribune, Feb 11, 2008) In Florida, a former chairman of the Florida House of Representatives Healthcare Committee proposes a single payer plan (Sun-Sentinel, Feb 8, 2008) that would include:
- Expanding Medicaid eligibility to 55-64 year olds.
- Negotiating with pharmaceutical companies around the world for cheaper medication
- Placing premiums on small businesses and individuals based on ability to pay
For and against single payer health insurance
Common to each plan are opponents, who will say that single payer healthcare limits choice, and proponents who look at a larger picture which counters the rising cost of health insurance. Those arguments were vocal in Vermont, where sparks recently flew between politicians and supporters of a single payer healthcare system for the state. (Rutland Herald, Feb 8, 2008)
Hurdles to overcome
Part of the reason there is such debate is that a single payer system is such a sweeping change, it would impact, and would require change, to a whole variety of exisiting benefits and other health programs, as reported in The Coloradoan (Feb 1, 2008), in review of its state's single payer health insurance reform proposals.
Watch this space for more details on single payer healthcare plans as well as Minnesota Health Insurance, Florida Health Insurance, Vermont Health Insurance and Colorado Health Insurance.