In a single-payer system, a government entity is responsible for reimbursing all service providers for their costs and expenses, meaning that billing takes place in exactly the same manner for all patients and all providers (Healthcare NOW 2010). This means that instead of tens of thousands of different insurance companies, employers, and individuals that need to be contacted in order to receive payment, there is only one, and in making this move healthcare costs could be dramatically -- possibly by as much as half in some circumstances (Healthcare NOW 2010). In addition to providing far cheaper healthcare, a single-payer system operated by the government could guarantee payment for all medical services rendered, which does not actually occur in the present system. Instead, many people without health insurance receive emergency care when it is needed -- almost always at greater expense than regular preventative care would create -- and are then unable to pay for their services; the costs of these unpaid for services are passed on...
This means that healthcare costs are already basically distributed on a payment-ability basis, but in a highly inefficient manner that reduces the quality of care provided to many individuals and increases the cost of healthcare for everyone.
A single-payer system operated by the government and with revenue generated by taxation would provide the greatest quality of care at the mot affordable rates for all American citizens. This would be in keeping with the principles established by the World Health Organization for a fair and good healthcare system (BLE 2001).
References
BLE. (2001). The U.S. Healthcare System: Best in the World, or Just the Most Expensive? The University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education. Accessed 18 December 2010. http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf
Healthcare NOW. (2010). What is Single Payer Healthcare? Accessed 18 December 2010. http://www.healthcare-now.org/hr-676/whats-single-payer/
