What would be your case for socialized medicine in the USA?

I want it now. The benefits far outweigh the costs with 50% without healthcare insurance, and how many without Prescription coverage? Want the case FOR, and if you can debate the cons, even better. And if you have a plan, would it replace medicare and medicaid

Also, if you have a plan, would there be a choice for those whom can afford it?
Additional Details
kpdlc: Ty. There must be a solution so that no one has to skip going to the doctor, er, or medicine. This is a critical problem here in USA.

people are perpetuating myths here. Several people speak with absolute authority about lines and doctors wages and other countries, There are already long lines and waits. Europeans and Canadians do not flock to the us in droves for doctor visits. They would not put up with a failed system anymore then we would. People are saying that the government would tell us what we need, so now we have corporations telling us what we need.

In california, there sb921, you can google it for more info, I'm not sure where it stands at this point, but the costs are very reasonable and you can choose your own doctors. check it out

This country is filled with "experts" who parrot what they hear on a 30 second TV blrb and then speak with authority about things they don't know.

rasearch... research... research

I don't have time now to give this question the treatmen it deserves, I hope to be able to edit and add to this soon

Just to clarify a couple of points. The uninsured represent less than 16% of the population (not 50%) per the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau (see website link within sources). And, the uninsured are typically not that poor (poors are covered by Medicaid) and not old (everyone 65 or over is covered by Medicare). The uninsured are represented by a wide variety of demographic groups many falling into the middle and high income category (see same website link for reference).

Back to your question, here is the case for socialized medicine. If you look at countries with socialized medicine such as Sweden, England, France, and Canada they invariably spend a lot less on healthcare as a % of GDP than the U.S. The mentioned countries health expenditures average around 7 or 8% of GDP. Meanwhile, in the U.S. we spend about twice that much around 15% of GDP. Additionally, if you look at the health statistics including average lifespan in all the mentioned countries they are better and higher than in the U.S.

So, the countries with socialized medecine appear to provide much better health for their citizen and at half our cost, meanwhile everyone is insured. That seems like an irrefutable case for socialized medicine. As a proponent, I am sure you would agree. It strongly supports your statement "the benefits far outweigh the costs."

But, not so fast this case is far from resolved. First, you have to internalize this process within our American society. Socialized medicine is as attractive to the American public as entrustring your tax and investment planning to the IRS. It is not going to happen. Additionally, you may have heard of the fiscal crisis associated with costly social entitlements Well, the situation in America is far better than in any of the mentioned countries with socialized medicine. Given that health expenditures in all these countries represent such a larger portion of their fiscal budget, the pressure of aging demographics is truly unbearable. All these countries are struggling in efforts to renegotiate their very expensive social safety nets with their residents. In essence, there is nothing about socialized medecine that is fiscally sustainable.

The fiscal strains on socialized medicine are the underlying cause of the declining quality of medical services in these countries. Others have mentioned the well known unacceptably long waits for medical procedures. Even tougher to bear is the concept of medical rationing. In other words, if you are beyond 70 in many of these countries many expensive procedures (bypass surgery, kidney dialisys, etc...) are not provided and considered not worth it given your already advanced age. I don't think the American public would take to such poor treatment too well. Last but not least, socialized medecine would require the U.S. tax rates to become as high as the ones of the mentioned countries. That would represent a huge increase in taxes resulting in a disincentive to make new business investment in the U.S.

To conclude, the advantage of socialized medecine may have very little to do with socialization and much more to do with health habits of citizen. American citizen are becoming increasingly the least healthy of the industrialized world. If you study our nutritional, lifestyle, and all around health habits; They are dismal.

So, it costs twice as much to sustain the health of an American vs a European. But, if the American is 3 times as unhealthy it is not that hard to explain.

If you want me to clarify those issues, you are welcome to contact me through "Answer."

Tried to answer your question about croydon but your email wasn't confirmed so it won't go through.i'm not Kay

You still do not get it do you. Even after all these answers you still think socialized medical care is the answer? Go ahead and call me more names if you like. I know a few but there is no need to use them. Yes something needs to be done to make health care better. Insurance is not the real answer. The companies that insure you and others are quite wealthy and it is your money they are getting wealthy with. It may be time for a non profit insurance system that is operated by the people and not the government or private company. It will be a long time before the answer is found. Keep trying and something may come of it.

You'd have to give an example of socialized medicine that works. I don't know of any. Sure there are people who benefit from it, but they have as many problems as we do. Try waiting weeks to see the doctor. Not having a choice in who you see. And having the government tell you what steps you must take in order for you to receive medical care.
The biggest con is the loss of capitalism. The United States has the best doctors in the world. Leaders of foreign countries come here to receive medical treatment because their country does not have the talent. What drives the best to be here? Money. You make everyone equal and you loose the drive to be better.
I am not saying that our system is perfect, far from it. But socialized medicine in other countries is not the answer. If you'd like to see how socialized medicine would work in the US, go to an ER in a major city. Look at the waiting room full of people that are not in an emergency situation. Some of them waiting 8 hours to see a doctor over something like a cut or a cough.

Socialized medicine is a thought and that's all.If it did come to pass that it was passed as things stand now it would fail.We are a country that strives on competition.The thing is that all Doctors would get paid the same.The scale of care would diminish.Marks cannot exist with Jefferson!Other countries maybe,Free Enterprise No!Now there is nothing wrong with a National Health care System that we all pay into.The other thing is that all that money people pay into SOCIAL SECURITY and never collect is a starting place for the funds.You see if you die before the mandatory age all that money goes to the government.How many people live to the mandatory age compared to the deaths.Also if we can spend 250 million a day or is it a month or year in Iraq then surely we can support a program that is not going to diminish the care we receive.So I believe in NATIONAL HEALTHCARE but not SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.

Socialized medicine, well, look at what happens in other countries. You have such a long waiting list for your number to come up, for serious surgeries, you have a good chance of dying first.

I have a friend in Canada who's daughter needs a hearing aid - she's 7. She's told she'll have it by the time she's 8 1/2. Yep, 18 month wait on hearing aids. Meanwhile, well, she'll just flunk school this year.

Everyone who CAN afford a private doctor, goes to the private doctor. Socialized medicine creates two tiers of health care - the low level, with "bread lines" so to speak, for the "have-nots", and the high level, for those who can pay cash.

I think it's a rotten idea.

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