Changes

==Current Practice and Effectiveness==

==Current Practice and Effectiveness==

The United States is the only country with an effective universal health care system.  [[David Hogberg]]  wrote:

An aspect of universal health care, emergency treatments, are accessible to all in the United States.  [[David Hogberg]]  wrote:

:"... everyone in the U.S. can get care regardless of income. In 1986 the [[U.S. Congress]] passed the [[Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act]]. This requires [[emergency room]]s to treat any person who shows up seeking medical treatment, regardless of their ability to pay." [http://www.freemarketcure.com/singlepayermyths.php]

:"... everyone in the U.S. can get care regardless of income. In 1986 the [[U.S. Congress]] passed the [[Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act]]. This requires [[emergency room]]s to treat any person who shows up seeking medical treatment, regardless of their ability to pay." [http://www.freemarketcure.com/singlepayermyths.php]

Other countries have experimented various types of socialized medicine, such as Canada and Cuba, though most [[conservatives]] say ith inadequate results (lengthy waiting times, for example). Cuba is another country with has woefully inadequate socialized health care. In Canada, it is illegal for a doctor to "bill" a patient, but one doctor found many people suffering while waiting months or years for treatment. He sued the goverment, appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and won (see Dr. [[Jacques Chaoulli]]).

Most developed countries have instituted various types of universal health care, though most [[conservatives]] say with inadequate results (lengthy waiting times, for example). Cuba is another country with woefully inadequate socialized health care. In Canada, it is illegal for a doctor to "bill" a patient, but one doctor found many people suffering while waiting months or years for treatment. He sued the government, appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, and won (see Dr. [[Jacques Chaoulli]]).

France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands also use the multi-payer system in a style called ''shared responsibility''. Under this scheme workers and employers are required to pay into private, non-profit, government-regulated [[insurance fund]]s. The government covers the cost of the low- and no-income citizens. These insurance funds negotiate strict cost controls with the government and health care providers to keep out-of-pocket costs from skyrocketing. Private insurance can be purchased on top of the insurance fund, to pay for premium services.<ref name="contracosta" />

France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands also use the multi-payer system in a style called ''shared responsibility''. Under this scheme workers and employers are required to pay into private, non-profit, government-regulated [[insurance fund]]s. The government covers the cost of the low- and no-income citizens. These insurance funds negotiate strict cost controls with the government and health care providers to keep out-of-pocket costs from skyrocketing. Private insurance can be purchased on top of the insurance fund, to pay for premium services.<ref name="contracosta" />