The Orbis

Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: News/Features

Americans are frustrated and fed up with our health care system. Even before the release of "SiCKO", a push for 'universal health care' had already reemerged and broke into mainstream public discourse. Almost four years after the disastrous Kerry presidential bid in which the candidate had virtually nothing to offer in the way of a substantial alternative to our current health care crisis, virtually all of the major Democratic presidential hopefuls now profess to support some alleged incarnation of "universal health care". Meanwhile, many years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the American Right still clings to their well-worn rhetorical weapon against healthcare reform: red-baiting. Although we can expect to hear plenty of whining from conservatives about the evils of 'socialized medicine', it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party will actually take any decisive steps towards a universal healthcare plan, even if they win larger margins in the Congress and take back the White House.

Although the term "universal health care" is getting wide currency in mainstream discourse these days, supporters of substantial reform efforts must be on guard against premature celebration over the proposal's reemergence in public conversation. This is to say, supporters must be extremely clear on what is meant by 'universal health care' and be wary of the term's misappropriation. Although virtually all Democratic Presidential candidates have made calls for universal health care, very few of their proposals would actually guarantee universal coverage.

The most familiar example of a public plan that truly does guarantee universal coverage for all citizens is the Single-Payer system that Canada currently has. Everyone in that country is unconditionally granted health insurance from the day they are born until the day they die, and the health insurance industry is entirely publicly run and not-for-profit. "Single-Payer" means that the government is the sole purchaser of healthcare, and everyone pays into the insurance plan by means of a progressive tax, instead of having a disparate array of different private insurers who charge regressive flat-rate "premiums" for those buying into policies.

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