The Pros And Cons Of Universal Health Care

Currently, there are many people in the U.S. who are uninsured, and many people see universal health care as a solution. The problem is that the concept is not as simple as it sounds. There are many flaws and sacrifices that come along with the system, and that is what most Americans are unaware about. Universal health care is defective because of the government's inability to pay excess costs, the poorer quality and tardiness of health care services, and the doctors' limited access to cutting edge technology and modern medicine due to government cost control. Since the government must pay for everyone's health care, expenses can be overwhelming, and the government must cut down funding on other programs and raise taxes. With these high expenditures,
Although Canada spends the most, its health care is among the lowest quality. The price of universal healthcare surpasses the government's budget, and therefore, the government cannot control such an expensive program without limiting health care itself. Therefore, universal health care outputs too many expenses and "steals" money from other programs. Canada's inefficient system displays the poor quality of health care in exchange for the high price of free
Since profits are lowered to fit the government's demand, the research and development of new medicines are delayed because there is no profit to make from an expensive and time-consuming investment. Even when drugs are supplied, the availability is restricted. For example, beta interferon is one of the few effective treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, inflammatory disease that concerns the central nervous system with symptoms such as visual problems, muscle weakness, overheating, and pain. "As many as 60,000 people in France have MS, and an estimated 2,000 new cases are reported each year. Yet less than half of the French patients diagnosed with MS are treated with beta interferon" (Capell 2). Beta interferon costs $17,000 per patient annually which is why the government controls the amount allotted. Only less than half of these patients receive therapy, and with the population of French people diagnosed with MS growing, treatment is substandard. The absence of private insurance companies results in these fewer treatments such as beta interferon, and therefore citizens' health depends on the government's poor and limited services. The low supply of medications to the public demonstrates how universal health care results in poorer health therapies and