What Is Single Payer Insurance?

As of 2010, the debate rages on as to what is the best type of health care insurance system for the United States. One alternative that is frequently mentioned is a single payer system like ones currently in place in Canada and many European nations.

Identification

• In a single payer insurance system. individuals provide revenue, often through taxation, to one central source to cover the insurance expenditures for an entire population. An example of a single payer system would be a national or universal health care system.

Benefits

• A single payer insurance system provides access to coverage to all citizens, regardless of their ability to pay. In health care, all citizens would be able to receive services such as hospitalization, prescription drug coverage and rehabilitative care.

Considerations

• Opponents of a single payer system indicate that the government is less capable of setting prices for services than insurance companies and health care providers. There is also a belief that it could create too large of an additional tax burden on the average citizen.