Question

Which of the main approaches to health care do you prefer?

Give at least one philosophically supported reason (i.e., use a concept, theory or philosopher)

Answer 1

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Health care in the United States can vary dramatically depending on an individual’s personal circumstances. Factors like employment, military service, and age can change what kind of insurance.Exploring the strengths and weakness of each may illuminate different options for modifying US healthcare policy.

There are four major models for health care systems: the Beveridge Model, the Bismarck model, the National Health Insurance model, and the out-of-pocket model. While in theory these categories have distinct policy separations, in reality most countries have a blend of these approaches, though they generally have a single health care system that is uniform for most citizens. These distinctions are effective at differentiating schools of thought on health care policy, but the policies of each country should be analyzed when determining potential improvements.

The Beveridge Moel was first developed by Sir William Beveridge in 1948. Established in the United Kingdom and spreading throughout many areas of Northern Europe and the world, this system is often centralized through the establishment of a national health service. The government acts as the single-payer, eliminating competition in the market and generally keeping prices low. Funding health care through income taxes allows for health care to be free at the point of service – after an appointment or operation, the patient does not have to pay any out-of-pocket fees because of their contribution through taxes. Under this system, a large majority of health staff is composed of government employees. A central tenant of this model is health as a human right. Thus, universal coverage is guaranteed by the government and anyone who is a citizen has the same access to care.

With the government as the sole payer in this healthcare system, costs can be kept low and benefits are standardized across the country. However, a common criticism of this system is the tendency toward long waiting lists. Because everyone is guaranteed access to health services, over-utilization of the system may lead to increasing costs. There are fears that adoption of a single-payer national health service in the US would lead to an increase in demand for all procedures, even medically unnecessary ones because citizens would not pay upfront costs for these services. However, other analysts argue against this problem, stating that current American practices waste a similar amount of money covering the uninsured.

Another practical concern is the government response to crisis. In the case of a precarious national emergency, such as war or a health crisis, funding for health services may decline as public revenue decreases, exacerbating the financial burden inherent in a large influx of patients. Such a situation would require careful allocation of emergency funding before the crisis.