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Research Proposal: Single Payer Healthcare

Introduction

            Funding of healthcare in the US involves three main parties: the patient, the payer and the care or service provider. These parties are popular even in other countries such as Canada and Norway. However, the recent proposal by house representatives in US to introduce a single payer funding systems has begun to raise contentions in the country (Soffen, 2017). In this regard, it is critical to understand what a single payer system works and compare it to the multiple payer system in order to understand the concepts well. To begin with, in a single payer system, the government is the main payer for health services to the provider on behalf of the patient (Friedman, 2013). This eliminates the need for insurance companies and other parties that pay on behalf of the patient. In this case, tax from the patients is used to ensure the government can operate effectively and still fund their care. In multi payer systems, insurance companies are the payers of the services offered by the health provider (Friedberg et al, 2014). The amount paid is based on the insurance package selected by the patient and paid to the insurance company as cover.

Argument

            Single payer healthcare will increase access to care especially for the low income populations and even increase health standards among populations that were facing difficulties in accessing care the past (Werner et al, 2013, Friedman, 2013).

Counterargument

            Single payer healthcare will increase government burden in future and this would undermine the standards of care offered. The costs of care in the US is generally high and this will be difficult for the government to sustain in the future (Soffen, 2017). A better alternative would be to increase government funding for Medicaid and related services while maintaining a multi payer system (Coughlin et al, 2012)

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