Is Single Payer Right For America?

Published: May 30, 2017

Many people support a single-payer health care system because they believe it would cover more people at a lower cost. But it is important to consider the tradeoffs to care, access, and wait times that come with single payer. Expanding coverage to more people is expensive, and high costs mean the government has no choice but to reduce access to certain drugs, procedures, and doctors.

Discussion Questions

1. What is an alternative to the single-payer model?
2. Why do European nations maintain the single-payer system if it has fundamental problems?
3. What kind of healthcare system would you want to implement and why?

Additional Reading

• Scott Atlas addresses single payer in the Wall Street Journal.
• In his book “Restoring Quality Health Care” Atlas examines the American health care and presents his six-point comprehensive plan to meet the significant health care challenges facing the nation.
• In “It's Time To Rethink Health Insurance,” Atlas, along with George P. Shultz and John Cogan, advocate for the modernization of health insurance.
• How much would single payer cost in the United States? Three think tanks say trillions more than many supporters believe.
  • The Urban Institute study
  • The Tax Policy Center study
  • The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget study