The growing number of uninsured individuals continues to be one of this country's greatest tragedies. It is perpetually an important political issue, although little is done to improve the dire situation. Part of the problem is that no one can agree on an approach to achieve universal health care coverage. The purpose of the following primer is to identify the major theoretical approaches to universal coverage, examine their advantages and disadvantages, and to briefly discuss AMSA's position on each. View a full in-depth discussion of each approach .
Revenue is generated through taxation.
The central role of the government in this system is to collect and distribute money. It does not necessarily control any of the other aspects of health care. Every individual would receive necessary medical coverage, regardless of age, health, employment, or socio-economic status. Health care spending would decline because centralized billing procedures would reduce administrative overhead. Consequently, a larger percentage of the cost of health care would actually be spent on patient treatment.