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The american healthcare system is a problem and it does require a fixing, however, universal healthcare would bankrupt the system. Medicare and Medicaid are semi-subsidized and these two programs are some of the biggest costs to the current budget of the united states. At 1.05 trillion dollars in 2015, it was the second biggest source for US debt after the Social Welfare programs, which was 1.28 billion. Compared to the military spending, 610 billion, both programs cost nearly double what many people assume is the most well funded program the Us focuses on. The fact of the matter is, is that because of population, universal healthcare just wouldn't be feasible.
We have 318 million people, and growing. The UK, our closest comparable equivalent, has only 64 million residents. Most of these countries who have universal health care, do not have populations that exceed even 100 Million. We're talking about applying a system that works for what would be a fraction of the populace. At 55 Million people on medicare right now, and 65 million on medicaid, we have more people on government funded or government assisted medical health coverage than the entire populations of most of the other countries who have universal healthcare. Whats more telling as well is how they talk about their health care programs having too many people in it already, how they say it takes forever to see anyone medically, and how when even a couple thousand more people join the system it throws their entire economic balance into chaos, as we have seen with the latest rhetoric around the refugees.
The reality of the situation is that universial healthcare as has been defined by the world, that being the government covering everyone, is a pipe dream. It would require gutting the other social welfare programs to sustain that magnitude of individuals, and it would destroy the entire budget of the military to 0 dollars in order to keep such a system funded. The only way everyone is going to get coverage in the united states is if the government and corporations work together in order to get people covered. Thus, the current system that we have. Short of losing 3/4's of the population overnight, that will not be changing in the immediate future.
We have 318 million people, and growing. The UK, our closest comparable equivalent, has only 64 million residents. Most of these countries who have universal health care, do not have populations that exceed even 100 Million. We're talking about applying a system that works for what would be a fraction of the populace. At 55 Million people on medicare right now, and 65 million on medicaid, we have more people on government funded or government assisted medical health coverage than the entire populations of most of the other countries who have universal healthcare. Whats more telling as well is how they talk about their health care programs having too many people in it already, how they say it takes forever to see anyone medically, and how when even a couple thousand more people join the system it throws their entire economic balance into chaos, as we have seen with the latest rhetoric around the refugees.
The reality of the situation is that universial healthcare as has been defined by the world, that being the government covering everyone, is a pipe dream. It would require gutting the other social welfare programs to sustain that magnitude of individuals, and it would destroy the entire budget of the military to 0 dollars in order to keep such a system funded. The only way everyone is going to get coverage in the united states is if the government and corporations work together in order to get people covered. Thus, the current system that we have. Short of losing 3/4's of the population overnight, that will not be changing in the immediate future.