{"id":325,"date":"2022-11-07T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/myths-about-single-payer-healthcare\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T17:02:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:02:03","slug":"myths-about-single-payer-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/myths-about-single-payer-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Myths about Single-Payer Healthcare Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Welcome to another installment of <em>Money with Katie Horrifies Readers Outside the US<\/em>\u2014also known as, another foray into the US healthcare system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If you\u2019ve missed the previous two installments, feel free to check them out here:<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/blog\/how-im-budgeting-for-healthcare-in-the-united-states-in-the-least-frustrating-way\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">How to Budget for Healthcare in the US in the Least Frustrating Way Possible<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcast.moneywithkatie.com\/navigating-the-us-healthcare-system-without-getting-financially-fed\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">Navigating the US Healthcare System Without Getting Financially F***ed<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">We\u2019re covering <strong>open enrollment dos and don\u2019ts <\/strong>on <em>The Money with Katie Show<\/em> this week, but I <em>also<\/em> wanted to pop off a little bit on the topic\u2014and I figured it made sense to address three of the most common misconceptions I hear about how single-payer healthcare systems work.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">For the uninitiated, welcome to the dark side! Per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/single-payer-healthcare-pluses-minuses-means-201606279835\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">Harvard Medical School<\/span><\/a> (emphasis mine):&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cIn a single payer healthcare system, rather than multiple competing health insurance companies, a single public or quasi-public agency takes responsibility for <strong>financing<\/strong> healthcare for all residents. That is, everyone has health insurance under one health insurance plan, and has access to necessary services\u2014including doctors, hospitals, long-term care, prescription drugs, dentists and vision care. However, individuals <strong>may still choose where they receive care<\/strong>. It\u2019s a lot like Medicare, hence the U.S. single payer nickname \u201cMedicare-for-all.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"block-animation-site-default\">\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>   ><br \/>\n    <span>\u201c<\/span>Come along with me on a myth-busting journey. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. We can\u2019t afford any ambulance rides to the ER.<span>\u201d<\/span>\n  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">So, please consider either (a) keeping an open mind if you\u2019re skeptical about the single payer system or (b) using these talking points in future heated debates (Thanksgiving dinner!), as necessary. I live to serve, honey!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">This has been top of mind for me since our country experienced pandemic-spiked unemployment in 2020, and millions of people lost their health insurance when they needed it most\u2014<em>during a global pandemic<\/em>. It\u2019s estimated that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/health\/number-of-uninsured-americans-drops-to-an-all-time-low#:~:text=Roughly%2026%20million%20people%20remain,of%20children%20are%20now%20uninsured.\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">26 million American adults<\/span><\/a> (around 8%) still don\u2019t have health insurance, meaning they\u2019re at the mercy of any medical bill that comes their way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The Affordable Care Act improved a lot of things. Among its most notable achievements:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul data-rte-list=\"default\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">It removed the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/healthcare\/about-the-aca\/benefit-limits\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">lifetime limits<\/span><\/a>\u201d that insurance companies could inflict (meaning, you could hit a \u201clifetime limit\u201d of medical costs with your health insurance and they\u2019d just stop covering you altogether).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">It removed the mind-numbingly cruel \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/healthcare\/about-the-aca\/cancellations-and-appeals\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">cancellation<\/span><\/a>\u201d ability, wherein an insurance company <em>that you\u2019re paying to insure you<\/em> can fabricate a reason to withdraw coverage.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Perhaps most revolutionarily, it prohibited insurance companies from being able to reject people for having \u201cpre-existing conditions.\u201d (Basically, if you came to an insurance company with a spotty health history, they used to be able to be like, \u201cNah.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Sadly, though, we\u2019re still a long way from a true single-payer system.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">While I\u2019d consider our system relatively indefensible\u2014it consistently ranks amongst the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commonwealthfund.org\/publications\/fund-reports\/2021\/aug\/mirror-mirror-2021-reflecting-poorly\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">worst<\/span><\/a> in the developed world\u2014there are still (some) ardent supporters of the \u201cinsurance middlemen\u201d system, who believe a single-payer system would somehow be worse than what we have now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"949c71e1-186c-47b0-a38c-9046f3a32f6d\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Mirror, Mirror 2021: Exhibit 1\"><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t=\"InfogramEmbeds\",d=e.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(\"script\");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,\"infogram-async\");<\/script>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Why do some people still so fervently support and defend this \u201cmiddlemen\u201d system? Well, because it\u2019s <em>massively<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercehealthcare.com\/payers\/unitedhealth-was-2021s-most-profitable-payer-heres-look-what-its-competitors-earned\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">profitable<\/span><\/a> for those who stand to benefit from the big payouts. And while it\u2019s fair to be concerned that a universal healthcare system might kill jobs, I\u2019ve yet to see anyone study how many jobs insurance executive bonuses have killed (more on that later).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">To those supporters, I say: Come along with me on a myth-busting journey. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. We can\u2019t afford any ambulance rides to the ER.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Myth #1: \u201cA single-payer system would be more expensive than the system we have now.\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Unfortunately, our current healthcare \u201csystem\u201d (it\u2019s technically more accurate to call it a healthcare marketplace, but I digress) is incredibly expensive to maintain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Just how expensive? The countries with universal healthcare systems that consistently receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commonwealthfund.org\/publications\/fund-reports\/2021\/aug\/mirror-mirror-2021-reflecting-poorly\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">top marks<\/span><\/a> (think Norway, the Netherlands, Australia) spend nearly <strong>half as much<\/strong> as the US as a percentage of GDP (and when measured by \u201cper citizen\u201d<em>)<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Healthcare spending (Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, etc.) in the US represents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cms.gov\/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems\/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports\/NationalHealthExpendData\/NHE-Fact-Sheet#:~:text=Historical%20NHE%2C%202020%3A,Gross%20Domestic%20Product%20(GDP).\" target=\"_blank\">nearly 20%<\/a> of our total GDP, compared to the aforementioned Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia, which spend between 10% and 11% of GDP on healthcare systems that cover everyone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">And remember, we\u2019re paying more for a <em>privatized <\/em>system\u2014it\u2019s almost as if the American taxpayer is subsidizing the massive profits reaped by insurance companies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Doesn\u2019t exactly scream \u201cfair\u201d to me, but hey, what do I know? Decide for yourself:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"1f340d4e-a2d7-40f0-81ed-a9a17962d8ca\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Mirror, Mirror 2021: Exhibit 3\"><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t=\"InfogramEmbeds\",d=e.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(\"script\");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,\"infogram-async\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">A healthcare marketplace with for-profit middlemen isn\u2019t just worse for taxpayers. It\u2019s also worse for the <em>private employers <\/em>(everyone from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses) who<em> <\/em>bear the brunt of employees\u2019 health insurance, if they choose to provide it. This creates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercehealthcare.com\/payers\/employers-expect-healthcare-costs-rise-next-3-years#:~:text=U.S.%20employers%20expect%20healthcare%20costs,be%20over%20budget%20this%20year.\" target=\"_blank\">rising costs<\/a> that strain American companies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The average \u201cemployer and employee\u201d together spend more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplekeep.com\/blog\/cost-of-employer-sponsored-health-insurance#:~:text=KFF%20found%20that%20in%202021,during%20the%20previous%2010%20years.\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">$22,000<\/span><\/a> <em>per year<\/em> for an employee\u2019s family health insurance coverage (which is separate from the amount the <em>family<\/em> pays in deductibles, copays, or coinsurance). If you\u2019re single, your boss pays around $7,800 for you as an individual.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Let\u2019s take a rage cheerleading break: G-R-I-F-T\u2014what does that spell?! American health insurance!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That means even if your employer covers <em>everything<\/em> (and you have no premiums or deductibles yourself), your compensation is still many thousands of dollars lower than it could be if your employer was <em>not<\/em> responsible for paying thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars to insure you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><strong>The point is, our system is incredibly expensive for <em>everyone involved<\/em>\u2014government, employers, and employees.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"block-animation-site-default\">\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>   ><br \/>\n    <span>\u201c<\/span>A single-payer model would almost certainly be cheaper for taxpayers, employers, and employees, which would help to buoy wages that are suppressed by exorbitant, employer-sponsored insurance premiums.<span>\u201d<\/span>\n  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Perhaps it\u2019s most expensive for the uninsured, who have to navigate jacked-up medical bills that exist in response to the insurance middlemen taking a 15%\u201320% cut of every transaction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Often, people will respond to conversations about single-payer systems by saying, \u201cWell, if I didn\u2019t have health insurance, my XYZ surgery would\u2019ve been <em>a million dollars!<\/em>\u201d But that\u2019s precisely the point\u2014without the for-profit health insurance industry, the sticker price wouldn\u2019t be seven figures. The prices are fake. It\u2019s no surprise medical bills are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancemoney.com\/medical-bankruptcy-statistics-4154729\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">leading cause<\/span><\/a> of bankruptcy in the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">A single-payer model would almost certainly be cheaper for taxpayers, employers, and employees, which would help to buoy wages that are suppressed by exorbitant, employer-sponsored insurance premiums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Hell, even a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/fact-check-medicare-for-all-would-save-the-u-s-trillions-public-option-would-leave-millions-uninsured-not-garner-savings\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">study<\/span><\/a> funded by the infamously soulless Koch brothers saw that a single-payer system would save the US $2 <em>trillion<\/em> over 10 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">That\u2019s why when you think about the \u201ccost\u201d to you, you can\u2019t just look at what you\u2019re paying in premiums or deductibles\u2014you have to consider the percentage of your tax dollars going to the system (remember, it represents more than 16% of our total GDP) <em>and<\/em> the amount your employer is paying on your behalf that would otherwise land in your pocket instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">But hey, I\u2019m really happy for Cigna\u2019s CEO, who took home more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2022\/05\/12\/health-insurance-ceos-raked-in-record-pay-during-covid\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">$91 million<\/span><\/a> in 2021 compensation, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beckerspayer.com\/payer\/the-10-highest-paid-ceos-at-publicly-traded-health-insurance-companies.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">few<\/span><\/a> lucky execs who earned hundreds of millions. I\u2019m sure they\u2019re thriving!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"infogram-embed\" data-id=\"c09ffb25-d5ed-49cb-b0cb-c1c5a47af542\" data-type=\"interactive\" data-title=\"Mirror, Mirror 2021: Exhibit 4\"><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t=\"InfogramEmbeds\",d=e.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(\"script\");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/js\/dist\/embed-loader-min.js\",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,\"infogram-async\");<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">TL;DR: A single-payer system would make this entire mess more efficient, and therefore less expensive, because there\u2019s now ONE massive entity\u2014the US government\u2014representing most people, with major bargaining power. Of course, most other wealthy nations <em>also<\/em> have private doctors you can visit and pay out of pocket if you want premium, immediate care, but the important part is <em>nobody\u2019s left behind<\/em> in a single-payer model. Plus, taxpayers and small business owners alike aren\u2019t left sponsoring the bonus packages of Aetna\u2019s C-suite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Myth #2: \u201cA universal healthcare system would eliminate consumer choice.\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Au contraire, my libertarian friend! A single-payer system would <em>increase<\/em> consumer choice, because you\u2019d still have the option of visiting any doctor for any reason\u2014but now, there\u2019s no such thing as \u201cin-network\u201d or \u201cout-of-network.\u201d No more networks! Just doctors\u2014and one universal health insurance card that\u2019s presented for payment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"block-animation-site-default\">\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>   ><br \/>\n    <span>\u201c<\/span>To believe you\u2019re in control of your health outcomes in the US\u2014where private insurance companies are more focused on hitting their Q4 profit goals than your care\u2014is a farce, and a dystopian one at that.<span>\u201d<\/span>\n  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">In the US today, there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health-news\/policy-ten-administrators-for-every-one-us-doctor-092813#:~:text=The%20ratio%20of%20doctors%20to,are%20in%20purely%20administrative%20roles.\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">10 healthcare administrators<\/span><\/a> for every one doctor, creating incredible bloat in the system. Instead of the world we have now wherein <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfae.org\/health\/2021-09-14\/u-s-health-care-administration-costs-are-responsible-for-at-least-25-of-medical-bills\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">25%\u201333%<\/span><\/a> of all premiums pay for paperwork and administrative costs in a complex multipayer system, you\u2019re now freeing up medical staff to <em>not<\/em> spend half their day working on paperwork and talking on the phone with insurance companies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Another common, related myth is that the \u201cgovernment would control your healthcare outcomes.\u201d But guess what, babe?! Someone else <em>already does<\/em>! And it\u2019s not the publicly elected officials accountable to you, whom you have the ability to vote out if you think they suck\u2014it\u2019s the CEO of Clover Health, who wants to ensure he\u2019ll continue earning his $390 million per year compensation package.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">An insurance company can deny coverage for something a medical professional thinks you need, and boom\u2014you\u2019re up a creek, now funding the insurance-inflated price yourself with a creative and well-written GoFundMe campaign (or going without potentially life-saving care).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">To believe you\u2019re in control of your health outcomes in the US\u2014where private insurance companies are more focused on hitting their Q4 profit goals than your care\u2014is a farce, and a dystopian one at that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Myth #3: \u201cHealthcare will be slower and worse if we have a single-payer system.\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">While I\u2019m not sure how it can get much slower or worse than it already is (I had to wait two months to see a general physician; I have yet to enjoy the \u201cspeed\u201d our system\u2019s defenders are always referring to), the data just doesn\u2019t support this claim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">This is a popular talking point that relies on fear-mongering to keep Americans stuck in our shitty, broken system\u2014but per the <a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/health-care-wait-times-by-country\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">World Population Review<\/span><\/a>, \u201cdata from nations with universal coverage, coupled with historical data from coverage expansion in the United States, show that patients in other nations often have similar or shorter wait times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The average wait time to see a general physician in the US is <a href=\"https:\/\/patientengagementhit.com\/news\/average-patient-appointment-wait-time-is-26-days-in-2022#:~:text=%E2%80%9CLonger%20physician%20appointment%20wait%20times,when%20it%20took%2024.1%20days.\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">26 days<\/span><\/a> in 2022, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1104679\/average-wait-time-for-medical-appointment-by-type-doctor-france\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">20 days longer<\/span><\/a> than the average wait time to see a general physician in France, a country with universal coverage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/health-care-wait-times-by-country\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">28%<\/span><\/a> of Americans wait longer than a day to see a doctor, compared to only 24% of Swedes, 22% of Norwegians, 14% of Australians, and 13% of Germans. The only country with longer wait times than the US? Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">While<a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/health-care-wait-times-by-country\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\"> specialist wait times<\/span><\/a> are a little more variable, citizens of Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany all wait less time on average than Americans to see specialists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">When we were traveling in Norway, my husband felt ill\u2014we called a local hospital (unaware of whether it was private or public, because the website was in Norwegian and your girl hasn\u2019t brushed up on the language) and\u2014within two hours\u2014a doctor was in our hotel room with all his supplies, conducting multiple tests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">He told us he was a private doctor, and it would\u2019ve taken \u201cmuch longer\u201d for a public doctor to arrive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"block-animation-site-default\">\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>   ><br \/>\n    <span>\u201c<\/span>If you\u2019re fearful that a trip to the doctor will run a four-figure bill, how likely are you to go unless you think you really need to? Any healthcare system that actively, financially disincentivizes interacting with it will\u2014almost certainly\u2014create worse health outcomes over time.<span>\u201d<\/span>\n  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cHow much longer?\u201d I asked, trying not to wince\u2014my beliefs about universal healthcare systems hinging on his answer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cOh, at least four hours.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">I laughed so hard I nearly cried.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Still, the house call ran us $400, as he was a private doctor who arrived at our room in under two hours to conduct a multitude of tests and we aren\u2019t Norwegian citizens with health insurance in the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">But an <em>out-of-pocket<\/em> uninsured cost of $400 for extensive testing during a speedy house call?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Be still my American heart (but not really, because I can\u2019t afford an American cardiologist and I\u2019ve been slacking on my Cheerios Oat Crunch intake).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">This erroneous concern\u2014about care becoming slower\u2014is reflective of the core fear that things will somehow <em>get worse<\/em>. And to that, I say: Friends, it hardly has room to get worse. The way our system is currently built <em>incentivizes worse health outcomes<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Take the pharmaceutical industry, as another example. Think about the incentive model at play: Rather than dealing with the root causes of whatever ails you to <em>actually fix the problem<\/em>, they\u2019d rather put you on medication for the next 40 years so you\u2019ll be a recurring customer. The most prominent type of health communication the American public receives? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3278148\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">Pharmaceutical <em>advertising<\/em><\/span><\/a>, which has been increasingly deregulated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Not to mention the obvious reason health outcomes in the US are worse: If you\u2019re fearful that a trip to the doctor will run a four-figure bill, how likely are you to go unless you think you really need to? Any healthcare system that actively, financially disincentivizes interacting with it will\u2014almost certainly\u2014create worse health outcomes over time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<h2 style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">There\u2019s bipartisan support, but private interest groups (and their fat budgets) create strong opposition<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Two of the books I\u2019ve read on the topic\u2014one incredible expos\u00e9 by T. R. Reid called <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Healing_of_America\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\"><em>The Healing of America<\/em><\/span><\/a> and another scathing criticism by Marty Makary called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-price-we-pay-marty-makary-md\/1129745644\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\"><em>The Price We Pay<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u2014showed me there\u2019s bipartisan support for the idea that our healthcare system is busted. Authors on both sides of the aisle come to very similar conclusions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"block-animation-site-default\">\n<blockquote data-animation-role=\"quote\" \n<p>   ><br \/>\n    <span>\u201c<\/span>We need to vote in a way that makes it clear we care about fixing this system.<span>\u201d<\/span>\n  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"sqs-html-content\" data-sqsp-text-block-content>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">We need to vote in a way that makes it clear we care about fixing this system. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/sanfrancisco\/news\/universal-health-bill-california-democrats-tax-increase\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"text-decoration:underline\">CalCare<\/span><\/a> was an attempt earlier this year at creating an \u201ceveryone in, nobody out\u201d universal healthcare system in California, but unfortunately, it didn\u2019t pass, thanks to strong opposition from private interest groups representing Big Healthcare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">If you like the sound of more money in our pockets <em>and<\/em> a lower chance of being obliterated by medical bankruptcy, it\u2019s in all our best interests to support candidates who will fight for a single-payer system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to another installment of Money with Katie Horrifies Readers Outside the US\u2014also known as, another foray into the US healthcare system. If you\u2019ve missed the previous two installments, feel free to check them out here: How to Budget for Healthcare in the US in the Least Frustrating Way Possible Navigating the US Healthcare System [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178814,"featured_media":2466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"si-template-single-post-healthcare-and-hsas.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,37,35,36],"tags":[46,60],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-financial-independence","category-investing-and-taxes","category-spending-and-saving","tag-healthcare-and-hsas","tag-popular-healthcare-and-hsas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3 Myths about Single-Payer Healthcare Systems - Money with Katie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/myths-about-single-payer-healthcare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Myths about Single-Payer Healthcare Systems - Money with Katie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to another installment of Money with Katie Horrifies Readers Outside the US\u2014also known as, another foray into the US healthcare system. 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