Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Is the USA ready for Universal Health Care yet?

Did you know that all of the developed/industrialized countries around the world already have Universal Health Care?  In fact, Norway has had health care coverage for all of its citizens since 1912.  You can see a chart of countries with Universal Health Care.

While the USA doesn't yet offer health care coverage for all of its citizens, the Affordable Care Act is helping more Americans find coverage, especially those with little income or who have pre-existing medical conditions.  Having recently gone through the process for establishing coverage in Minnesota through MNCare, I can tell you it isn't easy. For one thing, the online registration process had lots of glitches.  Additionally there were a dizzying array of providers and plans to choose from, with so many varying options. We ended up purchasing inexpensive coverage, but with a high deductible.

It seems crazy to have health care tied to employers, especially considering how less stable jobs are for most people these days. We can only hope that instead of leading the world in military spending, we might find the will amongst our political leaders to adopt Universal Health Care, despite the vast lobbying from the private health care industry.

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