For decades, the world has looked to the United States of America as a beacon of hope, freedom and prosperity. As a global power, our nation's citizens have enjoyed the privilege of living in a place where most can purchase both what they want and what they need to live at least a semi-comfortable life. Measure for measure, the United States ranks near the top in terms of citizens' standards of living and financial well-being. But where we fall terribly short is in our method of health insurance coverage. The U.S. healthcare system is inefficient, excessively expensive, and in need of an overhaul. And so, I propose that the federal government provide a public option to most American health plans by opening Medicare to all citizens of the country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, we need to take a look at some of the reasons why the United States health insurance coverage system is so flawed. According to a 2014 study reported by Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post, “the problems in our health care system remain so pervasive that solving them will take more than improved access and equity” (2014). This assessment of the quality of the health insurance market in the United States can be seen as the result of a number of factors. Now, it should be noted that the report cited in the Washington Post article was written before President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, fully took effect, so it's possible that the U.S. may finally start to catch up with other modern nations that are ahead of it in terms of overall coverage. However, the report concludes that the United States “ranks behind most countries on many metrics related to health outcomes, quality, and efficiency. US doctors face particular difficulties in receiving timely information, coordinating care, and managing administrative problems" (Bernstein, 2014). Furthermore, the United States ranks "26th out of 34 member countries of the Organization for Medical Cooperation and economic development" in terms of life expectancy. (Brodwin, 2014). This places the United States, firmly considered the economic powerhouse of Western civilization behind nations such as Korea and Slovenia, and plays an important role in determining the life expectancy of Americans, as African Americans can expect to live to the ripe old age of 75, which is “the same life expectancy [that] white Americans enjoyed 30 years earlier, in 1979” (Brodwin, 2014) .as such, this statistic should not surprise many, is that the United States lags behind many other developed countries, “ranking 29th globally in infant mortality, with the same rate.” of infant mortality in Slovakia and Poland” (Brodwin). , 2014). Furthermore, America spends more on health care than any other developed nation, spending “[n]early one-fifth of [gross domestic product] [on] health care” (Brodwin, 2014). One of the most alarming statistics noted in Erin Brodwin's article is the fact that more Americans are dying from treatable diseases like asthma than in nations like Costa Rica and Brazil, while at the same time sending more adults to seek treatment for the disease than to any other developed country. , with what Brodwin sees as “the soaring cost of asthma medications in the United States (a Qvar brand inhaler,for example, it costs 18 times more in the United States than in Greece) [to be] partially responsible for this problem (2014). Prescription drugs are exceptionally expensive in the United States, which spends a large percentage of its budget on pharmaceuticals. This is in stark contrast to that of other developed nations “whose governments regularly bargain with pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices” but who “Medicare is prohibited from doing” (Brodwin, 2014). Not to mention the sheer amount of money spent as a percentage of US GDP, with “[e]OECD data show[ing] that the US spent 17.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in healthcare in 2013”. Now, this share is reportedly “nearly 50% more than the second highest spending country (France, 11.6% of GDP) and almost double what was spent in the UK (8.8 %). US per capita spending was equivalent to $9,086” (Squires and Anderson, 2015). The lack of preventable care for the majority of the population is also a major problem in the consistently low-ranking U.S. healthcare system. Brodwin says “it has become too easy for Americans to forgo vaccinations,” which in turn has led to new outbreaks of preventable diseases like “measles and hepatitis B, especially among more susceptible populations like young people and elderly” (2014). Doctors also fail to spend enough time with their patients “[compared to doctors in the Czech Republic, New Zealand, France and Israel, doctors in the United States spend much less time consulting with patients and do a much worse job in explaining to them what is wrong” (Brodwin, 2014). As can be seen from the numerous problems in the system, the United States is far from successful in providing quality healthcare to its population. But this doesn't have to be the case, as there are other systems that have been proven to work towards this goal. Various health insurance systems exist in many nations around the world, most of which resemble that of Canada or the United States. For example, most Americans are “insured through their employer, some are enrolled in a public insurance program while others purchase direct insurance” (Limerick, 2012). These publicly run health insurance programs are owned by the government, and the two largest public insurance companies are Medicare and Medicaid, which provide coverage for the “elderly, the poor, people with disabilities, end-stage renal disease, and ALS – a form of motor disease”. neuron disease” (Limerick, 2012). As for private health insurance in the United States, the vast majority is provided through employer-sponsored programs in which “the employer contributes to the costs (about 85%) and the employee pays the rest” (Limerick , 2012). Limerick also explains that self-employed Americans such as entrepreneurs are provided incentives and tax deductions to purchase their own health insurance” (2012). When it comes to hospitals, Limerick explains the fact that hospitals are non-profit, government-owned or privately owned facilities. There are also “specialty medical centers and clinics in each state such as John Hopkins Hospital specializing in neurosurgery, pediatrics, cardiac surgery, urology, endocrinology, and child psychiatry” (Limerick, 2012). Now, due to the disconnect between the different ways health care is delivered in the United States, divided between government plans and employer-based plans, there are millions of Americans who are missing out.to control. The world's most developed nations, to combat this problem, have moved to single-payer systems such as in the United Kingdom, Norway and Canada. Single-payer health care “refers to a system in which one entity (usually the government) pays all medical bills for a specific population, and usually (though, again, not always) that entity sets prices for medical procedures (Rovner, 2016 ). In one of his articles, Zeesham Aleem, who covers public policy and politics as a senior editor at Mic, explains the complexities of the Canadian health insurance system in a relatively understandable way and compares it with that of the United States and with a plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. It delves into how a single-payer healthcare system might work in the United States and provides evidence of why it would work in Canada's form. Aleem says single payer is “a proven model for providing universal coverage” as Canada has had “a single payer system since the 1960s, [which] has proven to be an effective way to provide universal healthcare and high-quality care per population at nearly half the per capita cost of the same care in the United States” (2016). He explains that [in] the Canadian system, medical expenses for physician and hospital services are covered entirely by the government” and also that “[h]ospitals are publicly funded, but doctors generally remain in the private sector – they are technically private contractors ​independent" (Aleem, 2012). It is this rationalization of the system, which requires a single entity to pay all insurance bills, which "reduces the administrative costs associated with the messy complex of profit-oriented insurance companies", which could save you "at least 10% in terms of total amount spent on health care” solely on the basis of these administrative costs (Aleem, 2012). But perhaps the key feature of the Canadian health insurance system is the requirement for fixed prices, which means a standardization of services ranging from “[t]he amount paid to doctors, hospital admissions, expensive diagnostic tests such as MRIs and the cost of drugs." (Alem, 2012). Aleem goes on to explain that these services all fall under a government-regulated price list, where "not only are the prices fixed, but they are also low" (2012). It is by no means a given that the Canadian system is cheaper, provides better care, and is much more efficient than that of the United States. But is it possible to do this in the United States? As Aleem notes, “at a political level, it is entirely possible” (2012). It is in the realm of political plausibility that problems emerge. This could be resolved with the election of a Democratic president and a supermajority in both houses of Congress, reminiscent of the 111th Congress. The United States has struggled with attempts to reform its healthcare system dating back to the second presidential administration. Harry Truman in the late 1940s, and has recently undergone minor changes made by President Obama's Affordable Care Act. But many, including myself, believe that the ACA does not go far enough and so have proposed a different idea. My plan would be to convert the US system to one that is more or less equivalent to the Canadian one. First of all, my plan would expand Medicare to include all individuals under age 65 in a plan that includes dental care, preventive, long-term, and emergency care, as well as prescription drugs. I call for the phasing out of private health insurance companies, as I believe their very existence is.