普遍健康保險是一個好主意嗎？
普遍健康保險是一個好主意嗎？
 Medical care has a price. In the open market it is fixed by consumers who want a service and medical personnel who can deliver the service. The problem occurs when someone needs the treatment but cannot or will not pay the price for the service. I say, Will not because every decision about spending is discretionary. Should society as a whole bear the responsibility for the medical care for every resident? Should the nature of that care be regulated? Should the source of funding be general? Those are the most pressing questions when considering a universal health care system. Ultimately in a universal health care system there is a specified list of services and a funding mechanism that is not based upon need for medical services. You may need a procedure that isnt covered in the program. At the same time you might consider another procedure immoral or frivolous. Who is going to decide? The idea of universal health care sounds very good until you understand that some medical services will probably not be covered. In the USSR dental hygiene consisted of inserting a fluorescent tube into the patients mouth and surgery was routinely conducted in a super-cold environment because anesthesia was not readily available. In that case, most Americans would consider the health care to be inadequate. However, it was available to all and at little or no direct cost to the consumer. Under most regimes universal health care becomes rationed health care. The best example is the army under war time conditions. It is called triage but it means that you treat those with the greatest likelihood of recovery before treating soldiers with graver injuries. While it might be the best utilization of manpower, the soldier with his leg blown off, might not like the wait and a narcotic shot is not going to make his family happy. The issue of who is going to pay for the universal health care system is the most sensitive. No one wants to see others in need. By the same token no one wants to pay the high bill for medical treatment. If the universal care is funded by general funds from taxes it will always be a political football. If it is paid by premiums paid by individuals there will always be a need to assist those unable to pay the premium. The problem really boils down to our expectations of treatment level, the availability and cost of that treatment and who is going to pay the price. Yes, it sounds like a great idea but it has many difficulties and when it is expected then the society will start to question the need for universal flat screen TVs, micro-wave ovens and wall-to-wall carpets. There really isnt an end unless you look at the Soviet Union and see how it ended.
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