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Universal Health Care

Introduction

All the civilized nations of the world are utilizing various forms of nationalized or universal health care programs. Germany was the first country to provide national health care to all of its citizens in the 1880s. It was long before America started making any serious developments in the field of health insurance. The national health care plans in different countries accomplish the goal of universal health care in their own ways. Some of the countries have shut down the private health care insurance companies altogether. While in some countries, regulation and legislation of the health care providers is done. Some countries have allowed the private health care providers to keep running their business as a competition against the institutions of health care of the government. The purpose of these policies, rules and regulations are to influence the citizens to enroll in the health care programs in one way or the other. Universal health care provides many benefits to the financial and medical well being of the people of a country. The topic of providing universal health care in America has brought out a great deal of arguments, both in favor of it, as well as, against it.

Discussion

Arguments against Universal Health Care

The opponents of universal health care argue that free health care is not entirely free. Every citizen has to pay for it through taxes. The expenses that the government will incur in providing health care to the citizens will be generated from the citizens (Cutler 2004). The citizens of United States of America will have to pay a higher amount in taxes. The government will also have to cut its spending on other important sectors like education and defense. The opponents believe that it will do no good to the citizens. They will have to pay a higher amount in taxes per month for the health care plans. They say that health care is not worth cutting on education spending.

The opponents of universal health care also argue that if all the health care programs will be run by the government, it will decrease the flexibility of the patients. At first sight, it appears that the universal health care will increase the flexibility of the patients. After all, if the government of the country is paying for all the expenses if health care, one can practically go to any doctor they want. However, there will have to be some controls to keep the costs from reaching the unimaginably high levels (Dranove 2003). For example, what will happen to the amounts to be given for elective surgeries like wart removal, breast implants and hair restoration. One might say that the patient may pay for the elective surgeries. Who, in the government will define and explain that what is required and what is elective. These elective surgeries are sometimes a requirement for the patients. Whenever the control of something is given over to the government, politics tends to get involved in it. If such a situation is ...