What are the pros of having universal health care?

Question

What are the pros of having universal health care?

Answer 1

There is little wrong with universal health care except that in practice it can't be achieved unless you force people to do it -- which means you are distorting the economic choices of people.  

Answer 2

There aren't any. This is a solution to a non-existent problem.

Socialized medicine, aka Universal Health care, is a way for leftist governments to stay in power by taking control of who get what kind of health care and when. Do you really want a trip to the doctor to be like going to the post office a few days before Christmas?

The advocates of universal health care don't seem to understand that we in the US already have it; if you are sick or in an accident, you can get an ambulance to take you to the hospital. Furthermore, county hospitals are taxpayer funded and they take indigent patients.

But back to the issue of quality, there was a recent story about a high-ranking Canadian govt. official who had breast cancer. Her CANADIAN doctor's advice was go to the US for treatment. She did and she's doing well.

A similar thing happened in England when a smoker was denied an ankle operation because he smoked. His condition deteriorated and he was in constant pain. This went on for a few years.  

Answer 3

there arent any

Answer 4

In Canada, it is a way for the smug liberals to look down their noses at America.  But recently, a Supreme Court decision found it unconstitutional to deny operation of private clinics.  Socialism sucks.

Answer 5

You raise the perception of basic human rights.  People who don't think there's a right to health care are basically saying they value human life on par with the local squirrel population.

Answer 6

The obvious one is, everyone gets health care.  Closely related is the "load off my mind" aspect of knowing that you won't be bankrupted by an unexpected medical emergency.

It definitely puts a different set of priorities on the health care that is provided.  Because the universal provider is handling health issues at all stages of a person's life it pays off to focus on preventative measures (combating obesity at 30) than "heroic" measures (quadruple bypass at 70).  In private insurance focusing on prevention rarely pays off because most of the time the same person has moved on to a different insurance provider by then.  Since prevention tends to be cheaper than cure, the overall savings is significant.

Answer 7

Well, it is less worry. I do live in Canada and never think twice that my health care is being provided for.