Socialized Medicine - A Gift or a
Curse?
For those of us
who wonder about our current programs of healthcare, we often question whether
or not there is a better alternative. Our government has been attempting to make
health care less expensive for our country, and it is my opinion that socialized
medicine could indeed aid us in spending less while making it easier on
Americans. Socialized medicine is a word often used in theUnited Statesto refer
to many different kinds of public health care. It represents any system of
medical care that is publicly financed, government administered, or both, though
use of this word is sometimes wrong due to the large amount of confusion on what
it means exactly.
What is Socialized
Medicine?
Socialized
Medicine was the best definitive word for officials to give the term in
theU.S.The words are associated simply because of the nature of how our country
believes it will indeed affect us economically and also will affect our health
care system. (Goodman, 2009) The word association with socialism continues to be
used against both sides of the argument to make negative feelings towards public
control of the health care system in that country. The main example where there
are government employees as health care workers is in the of British National
Health Service, but systems like this one operate in other countries as well
including Finland, Spain and Cuba. (Brochu, 2010) TheUnited States' Veterans
Health Administration and the U.S. Army Medical Department also fall under the
same category, but are not associated with the term. The U.S. Medicare and
Medicaid programs,Canada's Medicare system, theUnited Kingdom's NHS general
practitioner and dental services are systems where health care is delivered by
private business with percentages or complete government funding. Most
industrialized countries, and many smaller, developing countries have some form
of public funded health care with coverage for all as their main goal. TheUnited
Statesis the only wealthy nation that does not provide universal health
care.
Why is Socialized Medicine a Good
Idea?
From the outside
glancing in on socialized medicine it causes disturbances on a very touchy
subject. Healthcare problems can cause disturbances that we are not really
prepared for as a nation. It could start a mass panic for Americans. That is
because we are indeed ignorant on the subject. However, most Americans have
little to no understanding of universal health care. Not only that, they have
never done the research themselves to see if it was better for them in any way.
There are a few positives to bringing the European style of healthcare. One,
you don't pay to see a doctor. Whether you're
treating a common cold or getting a surgical procedure, you will never pay any
amount of money ever. And it truly may sound good, and it is very good, but it
is also very sad if you are used to having the option of your insurance card or
choosing with your insurance company over exactly what percentage of your bill
it will cover for any given doctors visit. Two, the co-pays for
prescriptions are much cheaper. In fact, children's
prescriptions are almost always entirely free. Adults pay a set fee that is
usually somewhere around six or seven pounds, or about $10 American dollars.
Three, pharmacists play more of a triage role.
They have the capability to help diagnose a patient due to their stricter, in
depth training. (Brochu, 2010) Pharmacists over in the U.K.
work more like part doctors. They are not only equipped to treat minor problems
including rashes, coughs, eye infections and stuff like that. They could take
care of more problems than normal which would aid our current system to better
serve the American people. More and more often, they offer advice on things like
quitting smoking and losing weight as well as early screening for long-term
problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Fourth, Doctors prescribe
fewer drugs. No matter what's wrong with your child,
the first question a doctor here will always ask is: "Does your child seem ill?"
Basically, unless the kid has such a bad sickness that he or she can’t walk, and
the chance of he or she getting worse is high, the rule of thumb is that they
probably don't need to be seen by a doctor. Fifth, doctors are paid per person,
not per treatment. In the U.S., doctors are paid by the treatment. This creates
a powerful incentive to prescribe medication, if for no other reason than to
feel that they've covered all of the bases. This causes the people to pay more
for services, even if they cannot really afford it. Under the NHS, in contrast,
doctors are paid by the government according to the number of people they see.
(Socialized Medicine, 2010) Sixth, you take more
responsibility for your own health. The standard critique of socialized
medicine is that it's the government -- not the individual -- that's making
decisions about our health. Seventh, you see fewer
specialists. Much like an HMO in the U.S., your first
place to call in a U.K.-style system is always your general practitioner, who
then refers you on to a specialist if the situation calls for it. The difference
is that GPs in the U.K. treat a much wider range of problems than they do in the
U.S. So, for example, in the U.S., any kind of women's health issue is generally
handled by an OB/GYN, while children generally see pediatricians. There, in
contrast, your GP could theoretically give you a pap smear, tend to your son's
ear infection and treat your daughter's asthma all in one visit. This type of
health care system runs smoother, and is thus in some ways more efficient
than the American one. (Socialized Medicine, 2010) Finally,
there is more after-hours coverage. Most
national health care systems make it much easier to see a doctor at night and on
weekends. We have all been caught in that situation of having to wait to tend to
our sickness, and until we can either afford it, or if we have a sick child on a
Saturday night and weighing the costs; economic, emotional, and logistical of
going to the emergency room or just taking our chances and waiting for a day to
come that will be better to go on. If my child becomes ill on the weekend
anywhere in theUnited Kingdom, I simply make an appointment with a local health
care cooperative, and he or she can be seen day or night. (Brochu, 2010)
Conclusion
In the end, there
are pros and cons to both systems, though I hope that this paper has helped the
public understand the option is considerably less pressuring in working toward
getting a betterAmericatomorrow. There must be a compromise between big business
and the health care system before we can further our progress.
References
Brochu, M. (n.d.)
The Question of Socialized Medicine
Retrieved from
http://jmchar.people.wm.edu/Kin493/socmed.html
Goodman, J
(2009). Cato’s Letter – Five Myths of Socialized Medicine
Retrieved from
http://www.cato.org/pubs/catosletter/catosletterv3n1.pdf
Socialized
Medicine – pros and cons (2009)
Retrieved from
www.huliq.com/50811/socialized-medicine-pros-and-cons
Socialized
Medicine has a Good Side (2010)
Retrieved from
http://www.newsweek.com/2009/08/15/socialism-is-the-best-medicine.html
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