Montrose County Health and Human Services

Speaking Truth to Myths About Universal Health Care

As we continue in this column to look at the issue of universal health care, we have to recognize that the United States has not adopted universal health care in part because we have scared ourselves away because of the myths that abound about universal health care. Today we want to examine some of those myths.

Myth One: The United States has the best health care system in the world.

If we're that good, why do we rank 36 th in the world in infant mortality, 24 th in the world for overall life expectancy, and 67 th in the world (right behind Botswana) for our overall immunization rate. Substitute “most expensive health care system in the world” and you have it about right.

Myth Two: Universal health care would be too expensive.

The facts don't come close to bearing out this myth. The United States spends at least 40% more per capita on health care than any other industrialized country with universal health care. Studies by the Congressional Budget Office and the General Accounting Office show that single payer universal health care would save 100 to 200 billion dollars per year over our present system even though we would cover everyone and increase health benefits.

Myth Three: Universal health care would provide citizens of needed services.

The facts are that studies reveal citizens in universal health care systems have more doctor visits and more hospital days than in the U. S., and that 30% of Americans have problems accessing health care at all.

Myth Four: Universal health care would result in government control and intrusion into health care resulting in loss of freedom of choice.

Single payer universal health care would do a better job of providing choice than our present managed care plans which often restrict choice. And with the elimination of managed care, health care decisions would remain in the hands of the health care provider instead of in the hands of the managed care company. In this country a single payer universal health care system would be run by a public trust and not by “the government.”

Myth Five: Universal health care is socialized medicine and would be unacceptable to the public.

In the first place, single payer universal health care is a payment system and not a health care delivery system, so the medicine practiced in the country would be no more “socialized” than it is today. As for acceptance, national and state polls have shown that between 60% and 75% of all Americans would like a publicly funded universal health care system. In a recent survey of Colorado physicians, 91% were in favor of such a system.

Myth Six: The problems with the US health care system are being solved and are best solved by private corporate managed care medicine because private corporations are the most efficient.

Nothing could be further from the truth than this myth. Private for profit corporations are the least efficient deliverer of health care, spending between 20% and 30% of premiums on administration, while the Medicare system spends under 3% on administration. Health care costs under our managed care systems in this country are growing faster than in any other industrialized nation, while at the same time the quality of health care has deteriorated under managed care. And we are famously aware of the growing number of uninsured citizens who receive no help from the present system.

Most of us recognize that our current health care delivery system is not up to the challenge of providing health care for all. Now let's get beyond the myths that block our road to a brighter future in health care. Let's start to demand our right to something enjoyed by every citizen of every other industrialized country in the world—universal single payer health care!