BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 1

BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE

US

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BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 2

BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE

US

Introduction

Denmark has a universal healthcare system in place for its citizens; it is also the best

healthcare system in the world, according to the world population review

(Worldpopulationreview.com, 2022). It is, therefore, no coincidence that it is among the world's

happiest countries; this is only natural. This proves that a universal healthcare system works, and

the US should adopt it. The US stands to gain massive benefits from adopting this system, and

this essay seeks to lay out some of those benefits.

Benefits

Brings Cost Down by Not Depending on Private Insurance which may Not Be

Utilized

Currently, the US’s healthcare system is dependent on insurers, employing a mix of

private and public insurers and healthcare providers with a majority of Americans opting for

private insurance. Statista estimates that over 300 million Americans had some kind of health

insurance as of 2021 (Statista, 2021); this makes up for over 90% of Americans, approximately

66% of those insured use private insurance (Bureau, 2022). While this system is functional, it

creates a loophole that leaks money when the insurance is not used, since one has to pay the

premiums despite not using it. Even worse, these premiums are expensive, costing on average

$456 per individual, per month and $1152 per family, per month (Porretta, 2022). These figures

are astronomical compared to those in Denmark where an adult pays $230 annually in their
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 3

universal healthcare system (InterNations, 2022). This fact provides the first benefit of

employing a universal healthcare system; the money intended for healthcare is used for

healthcare. Insurers are businesses which means that they are more focused on the bottom line, a

fact which drives the cost of healthcare up.

Brings Cost Down by Increasing the Public’s Bargaining Power

The US does not compare well to other developed nations in terms of healthcare

spending. On average, an American spends upwards of $8000 per annum on healthcare (Thales

Group, 2021); this represents almost double what the Danes spend. A universal healthcare

system would bring this cost down by increasing the public’s bargaining power. As already

stated, the current US healthcare system is highly segmented, having multiple insurers; this

means that the power is in the insurers’ and hospital’s hands and not the public. For instance,

some American hospitals may choose not to accept certain insurance plans forcing an insured

American to shoulder the cost out of pocket. While these cases are few and there’s active efforts

to curb them fully, they still happen (Creating-healthy-communities.extension, 2019). These

occurrences would be fully curbed if a universal system is in place, in Denmark, a patient can

enter into any hospital and be serviced. Having a universal system will bring together all the

citizens, which would then enable them to negotiate for better terms like the one elaborated

earlier and even lower costs.

Brings Cost Down for Those in Need by utilizing a Common Pool

This then brings up the question of who is to pay. It may either be the people themselves

in some kind of common pool or the government; a compromise may be met by splitting the cost

between these two parties as the Danes do. This compromise produces another benefit of helping
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 4

those in need acquire healthcare services since the common pool caters to the cost. For instance,

roughly 26 million Americans do not have insurance (Seitz, 2022), arguably due to cost, a

universal system would also cover these unfortunate Americans.

Brings Cost Down by making the Pricing Model more Transparent

Having multiple insurers also makes the parameters used in creating healthcare pricing

opaque to the public. For instance, there is no justifiable reason for the price of insulin in the US

to be almost six times higher than in Canada (Schneider et al., 2022); this and other instances

explain why the US spends more than 17% of its GDP on healthcare, compared to Denmark’s

10% (Philipp, 2022). A universal system would allow for creating of laws that make healthcare

pricing more transparent and predictable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a universal healthcare system's benefits far outweigh any downsides. The

most significant benefit is cutting down the cost of healthcare. The US's healthcare costs are

among the most expensive in the world, so it is prudent that the US adopts it today!
BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 5

References

Bureau, U. (2022). Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2020. Census.gov.

Retrieved 7 October 2022, from

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-274.html.

Creating-healthy-communities.extension. (2019). Are all hospitals supposed to accept any or all

insurance? – Creating Healthy Communities. Creating-healthy-

communities.extension.org. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://creating-healthy-

communities.extension.org/are-all-hospitals-supposed-to-accept-any-or-all-insurance/.

InterNations. (2022). Guide to Health Insurance and Healthcare System in Denmark |

InterNations. InterNations. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from

https://www.internations.org/denmark-expats/guide/healthcare.

Philipp, J. (2022). 7 Facts about Healthcare in Denmark - The Borgen Project. The Borgen

Project. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://borgenproject.org/healthcare-in-

denmark/.

Porretta, A. (2022). Ehealthinsurance.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from

https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/resources/individual-and-family/how-much-does-

individual-health-insurance-cost.

Schneider, T., Gomes, T., Hayes, K., Suda, K., & Tadrous, M. (2022). Comparisons of Insulin

Spending and Price Between Canada and the United States. Mayo Clinic

Proceedings, 97(3), 573-578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.11.028

BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING A UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN THE US 6

Seitz, A. (2022). Number of uninsured Americans drops to an all-time low. PBS NewsHour.

Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/number-of-

uninsured-americans-drops-to-an-all-time-low.

Statista. (2021). Health insured number U.S. 1990-2021 | Statista. Statista. Retrieved 7 October

2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/200946/americans-with-health-insurance/.

Thales Group. (2021). Health care systems: models, pros and cons, and smart health card

contribution. Thales Group. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/government/

health/universal-health-care.

Worldpopulationreview.com. (2022). Best Healthcare in the World 2022.

Worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world.