I recently read an article on Vox that made a case for a single-payer health care system. A single-payer system, as the name suggests, is a payment structure in which all people have their health care paid for by the same payer (e.g. Aetna or Blue Cross). Many countries (e.g. Canada, the United Kingdom) are in single-payer systems in which the government is the only payer, but in the United States, the payer is one of many health insurance companies, if you have health insurance.
The article showed data released by the Trump administration that indicated that senior citizens in the United States had markedly lower wait times compared to seniors in countries that have single-payer systems. The graph was apparently trying to convey that the United States has a superior health care system to single-payer system when it comes to treating the elderly.
The Vox article pointed out the Trump administration data failed to indicate that the senior population in the United States receives Medicare. The article took this fact to make the argument that the United States, for seniors, is essentially a single-payer system. Thus, although the Trump administration may have released the data as evidence that a single-payer system, like “Medicare for all,” would weaken and harm the U.S. health care system, Vox argues the data suggests the U.S health care system is incredibly effective when there is a single-payer. Furthermore, it argues that the United States is an example of just how well socialized medicine can work.
I was excited when I first read this article. The Trump administration inadvertently pointed out that the single-payer system in the United States would work well, and we should continue to move in the direction of socialized medicine. However, the argument made by Vox neglects one important component of Medicare: Medicare Part C, commonly referred to as Medicare Advantage.
Approximately one out of three Medicare enrollees are on a Medicare Advantage plan. As such, a private health insurer is paying for their health care services — therefore, the senior population is not a single-payer system. For people with Medicare Part C, Medicare is, in effect, just subsidizing the cost of private health insurance for these individuals. As such, the senior population in the United States is not an example of a single-payer system as Vox suggests.
The article draws no logical conclusions based on the data. Given the title of the article, “White House anti-socialism report inadvertently makes a case for single-payer,” it seems like it was only written for the purpose of partisan pleasure. In discussing the complexity of health care reform and health policy, facts and informed policy analysis must be central to the conversation. Articles rife with misinformation only obfuscate the truth and prevent productive progress.
While the inspiration for this article was born from my anger against misleading news, there is a great need for a push toward “socialized medicine” in the United States. Our nation needs to protect the ACA; money needs to be focused on improving the health outcomes of the country. Health care outcomes are the worst among developed nations; that is appalling in a nation that spends more on health care per person than any other nation. Protect the small progress we have made in the field of health care as a voter, advocate and citizen, and stay informed on the status of health policy with sources, like the Kaiser Family Foundation, that are reporting on facts and data produced by experts in the field.
Thank you Dr. Slifkin and the Health Policy and Management Department at UNC for giving me an eye for policy analysis.
