The Undeniable Case for Medicare-for-All

It would be thought that the United States would be the world’s leader in healthcare being that we spend twice as much per person than the United Kingdom. That is not the case. We have the lowest life expectancy, highest number of avoidable deaths, and highest rate of infant and maternal deaths in the developed world (Gunja). Could it be because we are the only industrialized country that does not have universal healthcare? Could it be that a large percentage of Americans are scared to see a doctor because of the high cost of our health insurance system? We should move immediately to Medicare-for-All for universal health care because it would be cheaper for almost everyone, it is what most people want, and it would provide better quality care.

On the question of how much money would come out of the pocket of the average American annually, Bernie Sanders’ plan would mostly be paid for by a “4 percent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four” and a “7.5 percent income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1 million in payroll to protect small businesses” (Sanders). The remaining cost would come from asking the ultra-rich and corporations to pay more. There would be no additional costs like copays or deductibles with Sanders’ plan. This is the most ambitious universal plan that favors the poor, the middle class, and small businesses. In short, these categories represent the majority of Americans.

Looking at the polls on what percentage of Americans support moving to Medicare-for-All, States News Service points to a poll by KFF Health Tracking that found that “56 percent, including nearly a quarter of Republicans (23%), favor a national plan called Medicare-for-All in which all Americans would get their insurance through a single government plan” (POLL). This is significant considering how much the health insurance industry has spent on fear-based anti-Medicare-for-All advertising. During the early months of the 2020 Democrat primary alone, reporters found that one health insurance conglomerate “shelled out over $1.2 million in Iowa ahead of the caucus and over $900,000 and $150,000 in the Super Tuesday states of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, according to Advertising Analytics” (Otterbein and King). There is an approach called Medicare-for-All-Who-Want-It, but it would be hard to make such an approach work economically. The reason why Medicare-for-All would work economically is because it gets everyone into the same pool, asks the wealthiest to pay their fair share, and cuts out the profits of the lucrative health insurance industry.

How Medicare-for-All would impact quality of care is another question. Donald Berwick, Center for Medicare Services Administrator under Obama concludes that it would improve our healthcare system because it “would eliminate inefficiencies, freeing up money to address urgent needs” (Berwick). One contributor points out that “Medicare for All is far less costly than our current system largely because it reduces administrative costs. With one public plan negotiating rates with health care providers, billing becomes quite simple. We do away with three-quarters of the estimated $812 billion(per year) the U.S. now spends on health care administration” (Archer). Another thing is that by getting everyone into the same system, including our government representatives, there would be more focus and action on solving any problems. Everyone should also be paying attention to the current attempted takeover of traditional Medicare by the health insurance industry’s Medicare Advantage scam.

There is a wide range of arguments against Medicare-for-All including that there would be rationing, that most people like their current healthcare, and that doctors won’t work for Medicare rates. The fact is that there is rationing with our current system. In one blog, the authors point out that “more people in the U.S. forgo needed health care because access to care is rationed through lack of access to adequate insurance or unaffordable services and treatments” (Tikkanen and Osborn). Medicare-for-All’s poll numbers would simply not be so high if there was such love for health insurance. Ben Burgis dispels the idea that doctors won’t work for Medicare rates by pointing out that “Canada and the U.S. have exactly the same rate of physicians per capita” (Burgis).

It is time for us to join the world’s majority of countries by providing universal healthcare, and Medicare-for-All is by far the best way to do it. The private insurance companies have countless amounts of money to spend to convince us otherwise. When we cut through all the lies, we find that Medicare-for-All would be cheaper for almost everyone, is what most people want, and would provide better quality care. Let us move forward and do what is best for our country.

Works Cited

Archer, Diane. “22 studies agree: ‘Medicare for All’ saves money.” The Hill, 24 Feb 2020. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/484301-22-studies-agree-medicare-for-all-saves-money/#:~:text=Medicare%20for%20All%20is%20far,spends%20on%20health%20care%20administration.

Burgis, Ben. “The Many Bad Arguments Against Medicare For All.” Current Affairs, 23 January 2020. Gale Onefile, https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/01/the-many-bad-arguments-against-medicare-for-all

Gunja, Munira A. et al. “U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes”. The Commonwealth Fund, 31 Jan 2023. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022#:~:text=Yet%20the%20U.S.%20is%20the,among%20the%20highest%20suicide%20rates.

Otterbein, Holly and Maya King. “Anti-Medicare for All ad campaign launches in South Carolina.” Politico, 26 February. 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/26/anti-medicare-for-all-south-carolina-117771.

POLL: MAJORITIES FAVOR A RANGE OF OPTIONS TO EXPAND PUBLIC COVERAGE, INCLUDING MEDICARE-FOR-ALL. 23 January 2019). States News Service. https://link-gale-com.ezp1r.riosalado.edu/apps/doc/A570715620/AONE?u=mccweb_riosalado&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=710dd7e3

Sanders, Bernie “How Does Bernie Pay for His Major Plans?” Berniesanders.com, https://berniesanders.com/issues/how-does-bernie-pay-his-major-plans/.

Tikkanen, Roosa and Robin Osborn. “Does the United States Ration Health Care?” The Commonwealth Fund, 11 July 2019. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/does-united-states-ration-health-care

Young, Kerry Dooley. “Health Care Debates.” CQ Researcher, 18 Oct 2019. Thousand Oaks, California: CQ Press, 2019. 13 Nov 2023, https://cqpress-sagepub-com.ezp1r.riosalado.edu/cqresearcher/report/health-care-debates-cqresrre20191018