The United States needs Universal Healthcare.

The United States should not have Universal Healthcare Pro claims: #1. our system now is crap Many countries provide universal insurance but deny critical procedures to patients who need them. Britain's Department of Health reported in 2006 that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals, and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year. In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year. Many of these individuals suffer chronic pain, and judging by the numbers, some will probably die awaiting treatment. In a 2005 ruling of the Canadian Supreme Court, Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin wrote that "access to a waiting list is not access to healthcare." #2. The deductables and copays are way too excessive. Another common concern is that the young and healthy will go without insurance, leaving a risk pool of older and sicker people. This results in higher insurance premiums for those who are insured. But that's only true if the law forbids insurers from charging their customers according to the cost of covering them. If companies can charge more to cover people who are likely to need more care — smokers, the elderly, etc. — then it won't make any difference who does or doesn't buy insurance. #3. doctors arent focused on treating the patient as much as making sure the hospital gets paid Supporters of universal coverage fear that people without health insurance will be denied the healthcare they need. Of course, all Americans already have access to at least emergency care. Hospitals are legally obligated to provide care regardless of ability to pay, and although physicians do not face the same legal requirements, we do not hear of many who are willing to deny treatment because a patient lacks insurance. #4. With Universal healthcare, sure the gov't would run the system, but couldnt we be like France where they pay their doctors bonuses to help their patients (i.e. if a doctor get 5 of his/her patients to stop smoking = bonus) and #5. It would raise the care our citizens receive How can we trust a government to run such a important new system when it can't even run the department of motor vehicles properly? You talk about bonuses giving to a doctor that helps their patients. Well, the benefit of our system now is that the better doctors see more patients. Universal Healthcare gives no incentive (other than that weird bonuses thing but screw the French I hate them) for the better doctors to go above and beyond. Lets face it money makes people work harder and provide better quality of service. In nations with health care covered universally claim that they feel like a number when they go in to see the doctor. Physical help is just as important as emotional when your doctor examines you. If he is seeing a government regulated amount of patients each day, he isn't going to give you the caring time you deserve. Also, our system weeds out the crappy doctors because patients don't go to them. Universal Healthcare would let crappy doctors work without consequence leading to our government being sued by patients. However since this isn't privatized anymore, a citizen will find it EXTREMELY difficult to sue the federal government over an issue. Think about. Competition is good for hospitals because it leads to better care and better technological advances in the health industry. A doctor who goes to school so long deserves the money. And the better doctors should be paid more and given more patients because he has proven his success. Imagine the overhaul, time and money it would cost for America to do this. Not to mention the job loss from individual companies that is no longer able to compete in the medical field because of Federal government interference. Also, Universal Healthcare would pay for many illegal immigrants who do not pay to benefit from the program. Simply, are able to go in and get checked out knowing that other tax payers are paying the bill. Places like Sweden do benefit from Universal Healthcare. But they don't face the same challenges like population size, immigration, ethnic diversity, university schooling etc. They are a socialist society that works because much of their nation is rich because of extremely high taxes, one of the largest in the world. Everyone agrees that far too many Americans lack health insurance. But covering the uninsured comes about as a byproduct of getting other things right. The real danger is that our national obsession with universal coverage will lead us to neglect reforms — such as enacting a standard health insurance deduction, expanding health savings accounts and deregulating insurance markets — that could truly expand coverage, improve quality and make care more affordable. For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant, and wrong. Universal healthcare is a textbook case. I look forward to what more I need to refute.