Is It Time for National Health Insurance in America? History, Insight, and Thoughts for the Future of U.S. Healthcare

Joshua M. Meringa

  Today in the United States, more than 45 million Americans are without basic health insurance. The U.S. is the only major industrialized country in the world without some form of national health insurance for its citizens, and the U.S. spends more money than any other country in the world on its health care. Uninsurance has serious consequences for our nation. Several attempts have been made over the last century to bring about a nationalized form of health care financing, with little success. The U.S. can learn from the successes of other countries regarding the provision of a nationalized health care system, and several models exist for national health care, each with their own benefits and liabilities. Physician support for health care reform is growing stronger, along with the support of many American citizens. Perhaps a national health care system is now in the future for the United States.