Health Insurance: What is a Single Payer System?

Healthcare reform in the United States has been a talking point for decades, particularly as hospital and prescription drug expenses increase. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation regarding single payer health care, universal healthcare and socialized healthcare. Oftentimes, these terms are used interchangeably in spite of the fact that they have some major differences. Understanding what each system is and just as importantly, what each system is not, is important for keeping up with the ongoing debate.

Is a Single-Payer System the Same as Socialized Medicine?

With socialized medicine, the government owns the hospitals, purchases the technology, such as MRI scanners and X-ray machines, and employs doctors, nurses and specialists. This system is used around the world with varying degrees of success.

Single-payer health care, however, is not the same thing as socialized medicine. While there is one payer in charge of purchasing a majority of the medical care, that payer does not own the technology or the hospitals, and it does not employ the medical care providers. In addition to this, the payer is not necessarily the federal government; in theory, it could be the state or even a health insurance company that managed to secure 100 percent of the market share.

Medicare is an Example

Medicare is an example of a mostly single-payer health care system that we currently have in place. Medicare beneficiaries have private insurers to choose from, but the government is the main purchaser.​

Finding Affordable Healthcare Coverage with Nevada Insurance Enrollment

A single hospital stay can end up costing tens of thousands of dollars, and even routine care can be very costly. Few people are in a position to handle a medical emergency without seriously jeopardizing their financial outlook. Finding affordable health insurance coverage can be a challenge, but at Nevada Insurance Enrollment, our health insurance agents specialize in helping people with nearly any budget find good health insurance coverage. Reach out to us today to talk about your options.