THE UNITED

STATES SHOULD
SWITCH TO A
UNIVERSAL
HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM
AND HERE'S WHY

9.2%

RECENT SURVEYS SHOW THAT IN 2019

9.2% OF AMERICANS WERE UNINSURED,
WITH MANY MORE UNDERINSURED. (3)

50% OF AMERICANS 34% AMERICANS

GET INSURANCE GET THEIR
THROUGH THEIR INSURANCE
PLACE OF THROUGH EITHER
EMPLOYMENT (3) MEDICARE OR
MEDICAID (3)

HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE

WHERE DO AMERICANS GET THEIR INSURANCE? (3)

Uninsured
9%
Medicare
14%

Employment
50%

Medicaid
20%

Non-Group
6%
 ROUGHLY 3 MILLION AMERICANS ARE UNINSURED WITH
MANY MORE BEING UNDERINSURED. (3)

A STUDY REPORTED BY THE COMMON WEALTH FUND

SHOWS THAT ABOUT 29% OF THOSE WITH INSURANCE ARE
UNDERINSURED, MEANING THEY HAVE SUCH HIGH
PREMIUMS OR DEDUCTIBLES THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO
AFFORD HEALTH CARE. (8)

Underinsured
29%

Adequately Insured
71%

SO WHY DOES IT MATTER THAT

SO MANY AMERICANS ARE
UNINSURED OR UNDERINSURED?

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THOSE WITHOUT INSURANCE

ARE AT A 25% HIGHER RISK OF DEATH COMPARED TO THEIR
INSURED COUNTERPARTS. (9)

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF

PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS THAT NEARLY 45,000
AMERICANS A YEAR DIE FROM LACK OF TREATMENT DUE
TO BEING UNINSURED. (1)
 NORC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SENT OUT A
NATIONWIDE POLL IN 2018 WHICH SHOWED 40% OF
AMERICANS FORWENT AN ADVISED MEDICAL TREATMENT
DUE TO COST, AND 44% SAID THEY DIDN'T SEEK MEDICAL
ATTENTION WHEN SICK OR INJURED DUE TO COST. (7)

IN THAT SAME NATIONWIDE POLL 30% OF AMERICANS SAID

THAT THEY HAD TO PICK BETWEEN PAYING A MEDICAL
BILL OR PAYING FOR BASIC NECESSITIES. (7)

30%

IN THE UNITED STATES AN AVERAGE INPATIENT STAY AT

THE HOSPITAL COSTS $2,517 A DAY. (6)

WITH HEALTH CARE COST IN THE UNITED STATES

BEING THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD IT IS NO WONDER
WHY 40% OF AMERICANS REPORT THAT THEY ARE
MORE CONCERNED WITH POTENTIAL COST RATHER
THAN THE SICKNESS THEY ARE FACING. (7)
HEALTHCARE COSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
ARE THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD

THE UNITED STATES SPENT $11,072 PER CAPITA ON HEALTH

CARE IN 2019, TOTALING 17% OF ITS GROSS DOMESTIC
PRODUCT (GDP) WHICH IS MUCH HIGHER THAN COUNTRIES
THAT HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS. (4)

HEALTH CARE COSTS PER CAPITA (4)

United States $11,072

Switzerland $7,732

Canada $5,418

United Kingdom $4,653

$0

00

00

00

0
00

50
,5

,0

,5

2,
0,
$2

$7
$5

$1
$1

THE UNITED STATES ALSO SPENDS MORE THAN ANY

ONTHER CONTRY ON HEALT CARE ADMINISTRATION. A
STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
COMPARED THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF THE UNITED
STATES TO CANADA. THE UNITED STATES SPENT ROUGHLY
$812 BILLION ON HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION IN 2017,
WHICH EQUATES TO $2,497 PER CAPITA ON
ADMINISTRATION ALONE. COMPARED TO CANADA WHO
ONLY SPENT $551 ON ADMINISTRATION COSTS PER CAPITA.

THE STUDY CONCLUDED WITH THE STAGGERING STATISTIC

THAT OVER 34% OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL HEALTH
EXPENDITURES WERE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COST,
COMPARED TO CANADA’S 17%. (5)
 THE LANCET, A PEER REVIEWED MEDICAL JOURNAL,
PUBLISHED A STUDY IN 2020 ABOUT HOW A UNIVERSAL
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM COULD REDUCE THE UNITED STATES
HEALTH CARE COSTS BY 13% WHICH WOULD SAVE THE
UNITED STATES $450 BILLION A YEAR .
SINCE THE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WOULD
COVER EVERYONE THEY ALSO ESTIMATE 68,000 LIVES A
YEAR WOULD BE SAVED DUE TO BETTER HEALTH CARE
COVERAGE. (2)

IN CONCLUSION, THE UNITED STATES SHOULD

SWITCH TO A UNIVERSAL HEALT CARE SYSTEM SO
ALL CITIZENS CAN BE COVERED, WHICH COULD
LEAD TO BETTER HEALTH CARE OUTCOMES, ALL
WHILE COSTING LESS THAN OUR CURRENT SYSTEM.

Works Cited

1. Cecere, David. “New Study Finds 45,000 Deaths Annually Linked to Lack of
Health Coverage.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 7 Jan. 2019,
news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-finds-45000-deaths-
annually-linked-to-lack-of-health-
coverage/#:~:text=Nearly%2045%2C000%20annual%20deaths%20are,Medicin
e%20(IOM)%20in%202002.
2. Galvani, Alison, et al. “Improving the Prognosis of Health Care in the USA.” The
Lancet, 15 Feb. 2020, www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(19)33019-
3/fulltext.
3. Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population. 23 Oct. 2020,
www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/?
currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22%3A%22Location%22%2C%
22sort%22%3A%22asc%22%7D.
4. “Health Resources - Health Spending - OECD Data.” TheOECD,
data.oecd.org/healthres/health-spending.htm.
5. Himmelstein, David U., et al. “Health Care Administrative Costs in the United
States and Canada, 2017.” Annals of Internal Medicine,
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M19-2818.
6. “Hospital Adjusted Expenses per Inpatient Day.” KFF, 5 Apr. 2021,
www.kff.org/health-costs/state-indicator/expenses-per-inpatient-day/?
currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22%3A%22Location%22%2C%
22sort%22%3A%22asc%22%7D.
7. “New Survey Finds Large Number of People Skipping Necessary Medical Care
Because of Cost.” NORC at the University of Chicago,
www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/survey-finds-
large-number-of-people-skipping-necessary-medical-care-because-cost.aspx.
8. “Underinsured Rate Rose From 2014-2018, With Greatest Growth Among People
in Employer Health Plans.” Commonwealth Fund,
www.commonwealthfund.org/press-release/2019/underinsured-rate-rose-
2014-2018-greatest-growth-among-people-employer-health.
9. Wilper, Andrew P, et al. “Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults.”
American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, Dec.
2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775760/.