I was thinking today about the BENEFITS of having every single American covered under the same health care plan. Here are some bullet points of my conversation with myself:
1. Working Americans make MORE money! How is this so? No more health care deductions from your paycheck and your employer has a lot more money to distribute in the form of salary. Will your taxes go up? Probably. But certainly not as much as $150-300 per month, which is what most people pay for "family coverage." How do I figure you'll get a raise? Well, years ago I worked for a company that had probably around 100 people insured. Each MONTH, their check to the insurance company (which I mailed out, so I saw it) was for about $26,000. Take that $26,000, divide it by 100. That's an extra $260 per MONTH that could be given to you as wages, which adds up to over $3000 a year. More income=more spending=healthier economy.
2. Not to mention that we'd eliminate around 50-60% of all bankruptcy filings, which lowers overall costs of goods and services for everyone.
3. Healthy people are able to be more productive workers and work longer. Again, this boosts our economy by lowering the cost of things like sick leave, disability leave and having to hire when someone becomes too sick to work anymore.
4. If we provide health care to every citizen, we say that every citizen matters and that we care. When someone feels cared for, they feel empowered, and as a result, I predict that we would see a reduction in crime and other anti-social behavior. Certainly we'd be able to treat the mental illness and addiction that often lead people to commit crime in the first place.
5. You would receive consistent care. If we're all covered by the same insurance, no matter where we live, no matter what job we have, there's a continuity in care. No more switching doctors every time you switch jobs OR every time your employer switches benefits. Patients will have better relationships with their providers, which definitely means better health care. When you move, you won't have to jump through hoops to get your health history to a new provider because it's all in one system.
6. People will no longer be forced to stay at jobs that make them unhappy just for the health benefits. People will be free to pursue their dreams or attain higher education without worry. I believe this will greatly improve our country. Imagine what that could mean for innovation in America. Not to mention that happy people are healthier people and healthier people are cheaper to insure.
7. If everyone has health insurance, it will lower costs overall. More people=bigger risk pool. Plus, anyone can access preventative care services, instead of being forced to wait until that lump gets bigger or until that cough becomes pneumonia. Mammograms, pap smears, prostate checks, blood work, yearly exams...all these things catch disease early, and the earlier a disease is caught, the easier and less drastic the treatment. This adds up to cost savings. Even some insurance companies understand this: some of them give you reduced copays or premiums if you visit a doctor and/or dentist for the recommended amount of basic checkups, because they know that they'll save money in the long run to do a filling vs. a root canal or a mammogram vs. a mastectomy. Heck, maybe even the government will give you a tax credit for consistently following through with preventative care.
8. You won't have to keep track of all the little intricacies of your insurance that, for some people, change every single year. Providers will have it easier by only dealing with one insurance company instead of hundreds. In fact, it's highly likely that providers will save money by reducing the administrative costs associated with battling insurance companies who randomly decide to deny a procedure or battling with patients when they are suddenly stuck with a large bill that insurance won't pay, lowering the cost of care overall. These savings will be passed down to the government, who will pass the savings on to us.
Am I wrong?
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