About Universal Healthcare
By: Serin Sarsour
Tags: Universal Healthcare, Bernie Sanders, Taxes, Health Insurance, Medicare For All Act

Photo by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash

What is Universal Healthcare?

Universal healthcare is a system in which the government of an area or country supports its residents with a singular healthcare network, assuring all residents will have access to health insurance. Universal healthcare is paid for the citizens via revenue from their income taxes rather than the citizens paying out-of-pocket upfront.

Who has it?

Of the 195 official sovereign countries in the world in 2021, 43 of those countries do not offer universal healthcare; that includes the United States of America. Approximately 8.5 percent (27.5 million) of U.S. residents do not have health insurance coverage. Universal healthcare strives to bring that number to zero and have every U.S. resident insured.

When has Universal Healthcare been Proposed in the United States?

President Harry Truman was the first to propose universal healthcare in the U.S. in 1949.

More recently, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2019 (S.1129) in the Senate on April 10, 2019. The bill called for a health insurance program regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The program would cover every need, service, prescription drug, etc. necessary to maintain the health of every U.S. resident. Additionally, the program would fund all medical attention and services needed to diagnose, rehabilitate, and/or treat a health condition. Moreover, the bill would eliminate the opportunity for employers to offer separate, competing healthcare plans. Though, the Indian Health Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs are the only existing plans that would be able to continue operating the same as they do now. The bill has 14 cosponsors, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Every citizen would automatically be enrolled in the program upon birth or upon becoming a U.S. resident. However, this program proposed by Sanders would take four years until it would be fully implemented. In the meantime, individuals over 18 are given the option to purchase an extended Medicare program or a transitional plan. On the other hand, U.S. residents who are 18 or younger are able to enroll in the program once it has been one year since the program’s enactment.

Nonetheless, the latest action regarding Sanders’ proposal is that it was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance on the same day it was introduced in the Senate (4/10/2019).

Opposition

Similar to other proposals for universal health coverage in America, the main concern with Sanders’s plan is how it would be paid for. By offering every U.S. resident healthcare, it comes with a price; taxes would be raised. Those with higher incomes are likely to pay higher taxes for this coverage.

Support

However, many claim that even with increased taxes, the U.S. would still not be able to fund the universal healthcare plan. The cost of the plan is estimated to range from $1.1 to $2.1 trillion every year. The potential economic toll on the U.S. is considered a major factor in terms of the deliberation of this plan.

Where do you stand?

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