People in most countries around the world, especially the citizens of developed countries, get health insurances to assist them on treatment expenditures should they need it. The cost of medication in most countries is very high and it is not always possible for people to afford healthcare without insurance. Moreover, with the increasing number and severity of diseases, new treatment methods are being introduced but these are even more expensive than the ones used previously. Therefore, the significance of getting health insurance has risen even more. There are many different insurance plans available in this regard. They have different levels of coverage and various clauses. In this article, we will shed light on two such plans; namely Obamacare and Single Payer Healthcare.
Obamacare, which is also known as Affordable Care Act or ACA; a federal statute in the United States, was signed into law by the United States President, Barack Obama on the 23rd of March, 2010. It is also known as the PPACA which is short for Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After the Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, the Obamacare plan represents the most important regulatory overhaul of the United States health care system.
In contrast to this, single payer healthcare is practiced and works in many countries such as Canada. The cost of health care is covered not by private insurers as in normal health insurance schemes, but by the government of the country. The systems of single payer may have contracts with private organizations for the provision of healthcare services, once again, Canada being the example, but may also have their own healthcare resources as well as personnel. The latter case is the one that is practiced in the United Kingdom. The term used, that is, single payer, is only to describe the mechanism of the funding: the healthcare is financed by a single public body and that also from a single fund. The holder of the fund is usually the state although in some cases, the single payer healthcare employs a mixed system, that is, a system which has a proportionate public-private division.
The two types of healthcare differ on a number of grounds. Whereas the single payer healthcare system is what one can call a single-tier system, the Obamacare is multi-tiered. Obamacare keeps in place a complex structure and at the same time adds another layer by introducing the health care exchange for Americans who are uninsured. The majority of Americans, however, can continue to access healthcare through a variety of plans that have been made available or subsidized by their respective employers.
Moving on, Obamacare does not promise universal coverage. Although it broadens the coverage, there is a fundamental principle that compels the Americans to buy the insurance in order to get the healthcare. There are more affordable insurance plans available to Americans. On the other hand, the health care that is practiced in Canada, that is, the single payer healthcare, is based on a simple principle: each and every legal resident’s healthcare is covered by a plan that is publicly financed or is a territorial plan.
In addition to this, Obamacare does not provide equal access. To explain this in simple words, it is a type of healthcare plan with coverage depending on how much one can afford and not how much one needs. This is what the new law has put in effect despite the emphasis on affordable care.
Summary
-
- Obamacare-also known as Affordable Care Act or ACA; a federal statute in the United States was signed into law by the United States President, Barack Obama on the 23rd of March, 2010, is also known as the PPACA, available in the US
-
- In contrast to this, single payer healthcare is practiced and works in many countries such as Canada, the UK etc.
-
- Single payer healthcare: The cost of health care is covered not by private insurers as in normal health insurance schemes, but by the government of the country, healthcare is financed by a single public body and that also from a single fund; Obamacare is multi-tiered-a complex structure, adds another layer by introducing the health care exchange for uninsured citizens
-
- Obamacare does not promise universal coverage, single payer healthcare does
-
- Obamacare does not provide equal access, is based on how much one can afford instead of how much one needs; not so for single payer healthcare