America’s Single Payer System, Essay Example

Quality health care is a significant goal of the affordable care act. Many measures have been taken to ensure that this is achieved. A very important feature is demonstrated in the introduction of managed care system. In summary this system is expected to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality care for citizens in America.  This is manipulated though limiting unnecessary health care. In some cases it may seem restrictive, but ultimately the provisions cater towards making more expert interventions available to citizens (Kongstvedt, 3).

For example, incentives are offered to physicians and patients for choosing methods of care that are less expensive such as selecting fewer brand name medications. The government has instituted programs that would also allow patients to pay less for medications that may be costly. Some pharmacies even offer those medications free. Besides, more advanced nurse practitioners are trained to supplement highphysicians’ visit costs(Kongstvedt, 3).

Programs have also emerged evaluating the necessity of certain types of procedures. For example, when patients visit have an emergency room visit systems have been developed to prevent medication wastage and interventions through misdiagnoses. Emergency departments have established protocols that enabler quick and efficient evaluation arriving at the most appropriate diagnosis for patients to receive the most appropriate and best quality of care. This reduces costs to patients as well as the health care system essentially(Kongstvedt, 3).

Single payer health care system

A single payer system is one in which the government handles all healthcare costs. In this case the government takes responsibility for health care costs instead of private insurance companies. This system is utilized in Canada whereby the government contracts services, but is the solely responsible for the overall costs incurred. While this is an federal funding some countries engaged in a mixed system allowing private entities to share the costs (Dyer, 102)

Socialized health care system

This term is also used to explain universal health care. It embodies adopting strategies to provide medical and hospital care for everyone in society at minimal costs.  With the introduction act measures were taken to impinge on socialized medicine in the health care system. Attempts were taken to reduce costs allowing accessibility. Previously, the health care system in America was very discriminatory. If people did not have health insurance they were debarred from proper care.

While Medicare and Medicaid areexpected to supplement health care, still many in the society are not eligible for these programs. Socialized health care systems allow all people access to health care at costs they can afford. Many developing countries practice a socialized healthcare system. However, since the term is associated with negative linkages to communism, it is seldom used to describe attempts of offering care at lower costs for the population( Patel&Rushefsky, 360).

Works cited

Dyer, Owen. US Health reform:  America’s single payer system. BMJ 348, p 102.2014. Print.

Kant Patel; Mark E. Rushefsky. Health Care Politics and Policy in America. (3rd Ed). Sage 2006 Print

Kongstvedt, Peter. The Managed Health Care Handbook, (4^th Edition). New York. Aspen Publishers. 2001. Print