Most of the industrialized countries
offer a national health insurance to their citizens as a duty to its
citizens. However, the USA does not offer any type of national coverage
for its citizens except for those people on or below the poverty level
and those people who have retired from the work force. The issue of cost
of health care is basically that a country (its citizens) can either pay
up-front (National health care or at the back-end.
This issue of the paying up-front or
paying at the back-end is best explained in this fashion. Healthcare is
expensive-the costs are spread throughout the entire society. Because
when a person is ill, whatever economic resources (s)he has become
focused in on his/her medical needs. This cost can be spread out over
the entire population or it can rest upon this individual, which in the
long run is still shared by the total populace. With National Health
Insurance, everyone pays upfront for potential health needs. With the
USA system, the individual must bear the cost and society pays at the
backend when these people declare bankruptcy, loose productivity because
they are unable to work, interest rates and the cost of goods and
services go up in price.
This churning process has been one of
the corner stones of the American Business System where the concept that
anyone can succeed in this country. (This concept may be a highpoint of
the USA or it may be the Achilles Heel of the system). The bottom line
is that everyone pays or shares the costs for Healthcare, either by
paying upfront before an illness strikes or afterwards when the costs of
goods and service go up.
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