Medicare for all is a big topic in the United States. With 32% of American workers and over half having defaulted on it having problems with medical bills, and 530,000 Americans going bankrupt every year. The United States has undoubtedly one of the most expensive medical treatment systems in the world. But with Medicare for all, it can severely change the state of the U.S. economy. Medicare for all can save a lot of citizens from going bankrupt while giving a disadvantage to hospitals and the government. 

What is Medicare for all?

Medicare for all is a plan that aims to provide health care for every citizen in the country without them spending their own money on health care. Currently, in the United States, there is no universal healthcare provided for citizens. 

Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. This act aims to cover citizens’ medical taxes and provide health insurance to American citizens. This act is currently still in action, but it is nowhere close to Medicare for all since it only covers 20 million citizens’ medical bills, which is only 6 percent of the United States’ population. 

Pros

Lower medical bills

With Medicare for all, citizens have to pay less since the government will cover part of the bills. Citizens only have to pay federal taxes and state taxes and some service charges. 

Research shows that with Medicare for all, Americans can save 2 trillion dollars over a decade. Medicare for all can lower American’s health care spending and they can spend their money on other things they are interested in or need. 

Provides coverage 

With Medicare for all, every man, child, and woman will get health insurance provided by the government. With this, many people will get the cover they needed that they couldn’t afford before.

 Medicare for all can cover at least 44 million Americans’ insurance. Which means 13 percent of Americans would be provided with insurance provided by the government.  

Healthier population

With Medicare for all, the American population will become healthier for many reasons. 

Since the medical bills would decrease, more people would be willing to get treatment earlier instead of waiting until it’s too late. More than 54 percent of Americans said that they’ve delayed getting medical treatment because of high medical bills. Also, with lower medical bills, Americans will have more savings to eat healthier, buy more nutritious products, and other hygiene products. 

Cons

Higher taxes

One of the biggest downsides to Medicare for all is that taxes might increase. Since the government has to pay for medical treatments and drugs, citizens might have to pay more so the government can fund this service. 

With Medicare for all, employers will have to pay 7.5 percent of payroll tax to help support the system, according to a report released by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Logically speaking, this means the employees’ salaries might decrease. 

Hospitals closing

Medicare for all might also lead to fewer private hospitals, which means most hospitals will be non-profit and government-funded. Since Medicare for all covers most medical bills, researchers say that hospitals could lose up to $151 billion annually. 

With Medicare for all, hospitals would lose $200 billion annually. This loss can lead not just to hospitals closing, but it can also lead to hospitals providing worse and worse medical treatment since they don’t have the money to provide quality treatments for the patients.

Fewer job opportunities

Fewer job opportunities will be available in the medical industry, this is because fewer and fewer hospitals will be available to provide these jobs. Experts estimate that 2 million jobs will be lost under Medicare for all system. Hospitals would hire fewer doctors and nurses since there is less money available for them to pay the workers.

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In conclusion, Medicare for all can benefit citizens so they can get better healthcare. On the other hand, it can be disadvantageous for hospitals and even force citizens to pay more taxes. Medicare for all can severely help many people that are either going bankrupt or currently in debt because of medical bills. With Medicare for all, Americans can save their money on medical bills and spend it on other needs like better insurance.