"Would universal healthcare negatively affect the quality of our healthcare? For example, longer wait times to receive surgery or doctors being paid poorly?" - @lavender22
In my opinion, universal healthcare would probably negatively affect the quality of healthcare in the United States. Longer wait times are a possibility and medical professionals would likely see a decrease in salary. For example, universal healthcare would artificially alter both supply and demand in the market which would mean that goods and services are not in natural equilibrium. This results in inefficient use of resources that do not best serve the population. In addition, the government would either be forced to pay whatever price pharmaceutical companies wish them to pay which would be extremely costly, or the government could put price controls into place. While this may sound like a good idea, price controls always lead to shortages which leads to consumers not getting the products they want and need. In an industry such as the pharmaceutical industry, this could be life-threatening to many.
Many may argue that we need universalized healthcare due to the astronomical prices consumers are forced to pay in this country, but I would actually argue that government intervention is a major part of the problem. Pharmecutical and insurance companies have been lobbying the US government for over a century to protect their industry by keeping out competitors and raising prices to unnatural levels(Cox). In addition, the US will have a major problem if doctors become underpaid due to the massive amount of schooling that they have to get through. Nobody will want to go to college for a decade in order to make a measly amount of money, especially since the government has meddled in the higher education industry which has led to rising prices and the devaluation of college degrees. This could create a massive doctor shortage which would raise prices even more which could really hurt American consumers. Overall, most industries, such as healthcare, are increasing in costs due to corporate lobbying and government meddling with the industry's natural supply and demand. The solution may be to get the government out of the healthcare system, but they are so intertwined that it may be impossible.
One solution that many point to is the idea of Direct Primary Care. This system essentially functions like a gym membership, where consumers pay a certain price per month and can visit their doctor as often as they wish or pay additional fees for special services. This mostly takes health insurance out of the picture and allows customers to pay an averagea of $40-$80 per month for care(Owen). In addition, procedures such as surgery are estimated to cost 1/8th of the price of a typical hospital. Overall, I believe that the solution to our healthcare issues lies in the free market, not more big government solutions.
Works Cited
Cox, Hannah. "How Government Hijacked the Free Healthcare Market." Based, 25 Jan. 2021, open.spotify.com/episode/3Xgev0mcYVkznBHT4MRyE5?si=3zi5PSFeQzWYhMw48Xun6w.
Owen, J. The Beacon Center of Tennessee, www.beacontn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Healthcare_2015_WEB-1.pdf.