Single Payer Healthcare: Myths vs. Facts

By Bill Schneider, RN

Most studies agree – implementing a single payer healthcare system in the United States will result in overall savings. Despite the facts, misinformation about single payer persists. Let’s debunk some of the most common myths about a single-payer healthcare system.

MYTH: Single Payer would cost too much money, and result in increased healthcare costs.

FACT: A systematic review of 22 cost studies found that 19 of these studies predicted first year savings, and all studies predicted long-term savings to the economy with a single payer system versus our current system.

MYTH: Single Payer Healthcare would destroy our ability to choose healthcare providers, force us to see a different doctor, and force us to wait a long time for necessary care.

FACT: Ironically this is true of our current system. Unless you are very wealthy, private insurance companies dictate which providers you can see and what treatment you can get depending on who is “in” or “out” of network and what services are covered, and they require you to seek referrals or pre-approvals for certain specialists or testing adding unnecessary wait times to receiving care.

MYTH: All Americans get the healthcare they need, even if they don’t have insurance.

FACT: The for-profit insurance & health system in the US leads to needless deaths every year. During the COVID-19 pandemic a study found that in 2020 alone, a single payer healthcare system would have prevented 212,000 needless deaths and $106 billion dollars in pandemic related hospital costs.

Our for-profit healthcare system also systematically discriminates against minorities, lower income Americans, and those with poor health. Studies have found that Americans with poor health, low income, and minority backgrounds are a staggering 68% less likely to have health insurance than high income white Americans.

Healthcare is a human right, and it’s our right as Americans to live a long and healthy life – no matter our class, race, or gender. Universal, single-payer healthcare can address the systemic disparities we face in American healthcare, while lowering cost and making access available for all.

Nurses need to stand up and fight for our patients and that means fighting for single-payer healthcare.