Why Single Payer?
And Why Us, the Health Professional Students?
In a nutshell . . .
- Single-payer” is a non-specific term for an approach to structuring the financing side of healthcare reform, such that all people contribute in a predictably affordable way (usually based on income).
- Inherent to “single-payer” is a stipulation that money collected be used to improve health outcomes of the people in a determined risk pool.
- With all contributing, the risk pool becomes large enough that very comprehensive coverage can be provided to all (even for those who – for any number of reasons – are unable to financially “contribute”).
- Coverage becomes automatic, guaranteed – and lifelong – irrespective of one’s income, health status or employment.
- Real CHOICE – of who takes care of you. Giving people the power to choose their provider creates true competition to drive quality improvement. (Contrast to the false choices we are offered now about “coverage” – see below.)
One of the major effects of “single-payer” is the severing of the perverse (and unique to the United States) connection of having your employer control your healthcare decisions. And severing your need to work for an employer that provides healthcare (also known as "job-lock" where you may feel constrained to remain in an undesirable job just to keep the employer-provided health insurance that you need.)
Funding Mechanism for Single-Payer versus Current Employer-Based "System"
While SB 810 and HR 676/S703 outline a funding mechanism of contribution via the employer (since it is based on income), Single-Payer is an automatic process –- just as Medicare contributions are paid now, as 1.45% of every paycheck for every employee in the country. Thus, the employer is removed from both the obligation to “provide” benefits, as well as the “control” that fosters over your health. Talk about indentured servitude! And we have been locked into this mentality of “let my employer determine my health outcomes” since post-WWII!
While the current employer-based funding method describes a dual contribution of both employee and employer, this is mere semantics. Very good research shows that any and all “employer-paid benefits” are actually foregone wages (Gruber & Kreuger). Thus, it is YOU -– the individual –- who is funding this -- not the employer!
Important point: Don’t get stuck on irrelevant details, such as what “share” the employer should “contribute”!
Choice – particularly the false “choices” we are offered in our current non-system:
These refer to “coverage” options, as if we all had “magic balls” to predict
which ailments or parts of our bodies we did not need to insure. Single-payer
obviates the need for this false choice, because under SB 810 Single Payer,
everyone is “covered” for medically indicated and necessary care. With
everyone eligible for the same “list” of comprehensive care, the term
“insurance” in fact becomes a moot point, allowing us to shift the
conversation, as well as the focus of our efforts at improvement, to
CARE – which is exactly the point!
For more details, here is the first and best place to begin: Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP’s) information page.
The best way to expand your understanding on this very comprehensive topic is to join PNHP’s Quote-of-the-Day – via email or RSS feed.
Try it for a month. You will receive one communication per day, which you can read in 2 minutes. By the end of one month (that’s just one total hour of your life), you will be more well-versed on the breadth of health policy issues related to universal healthcare than 99% of the US population!
Resources
Explore these resources and websites that are focused on SB 810 or national legislation.
Our CAHPSA Fact Sheets and PowerPoint Presentations
Download these up to date Fact Sheets and Presentations from our very own Medical Student Fellow, as a learning tool for yourself, or to hand out and show at your group's meetings. Read the 2-page long Fact Sheet here as well.
Contact the Medical Student Fellow for more information or to invite a speaker for your group.