Pros & Cons of National Health Insurance

It is not a secret that public health is one of the most acute issues faced by the government. The National Health Insurance (NHI) plan should be developed in a way that allows addressing the health  needs of all citizens. The fact that healthcare is a basic need of every person means that our government is responsible for selection the most appropriate option for the nation. The NHI  should be aimed at considering the basic human right – providing health care coverage to have equal healthcare access regardless of the age, gender, and income. The NHI plan introduced in HR 676 is entitled as The Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act. This bill seems to make considerable changes in the health care system. Undoubtedly, it is critical to consider the pros and the cons of NHI in order to implement the proper strategies. The NHI plan should be aimed at solving health care problems, instead of creating more problems. Currently, opinions vary, as some physicians, politicians and ordinary citizens across the United States support government legislation to establish national health insurance (the single payer health care), while other oppose it. Pros & Cons of National Health Insurance

To start with, there are certain issues raised by the public and health care providers that highlight the negative effects of NHI plan. It is supposed that old people will be denied care so they will die sooner. People will get sicker because they’ll have to wait for care. There may be long lines for important medical procedures. In addition, people will be assigned to doctors and hospitals and not be able to choose their own. These examples show that NHI plan has some negative effects on society. According to expert, “the establishment of a “single payer” health care system would inevitably result in lower payments for physician and other health care providers” (Book, 2009). Patients will have impairing access to health care services because lower incomes for physicians will lead to reduction in the supply of professionals (or shortage of health care specialists).  The NHI plan will eliminate the free market for health care providers because the prices will be stable. This will lead to inability to promote better medical services and produce better medications (Pros and Cons of Universal Health Care, 2017).