An Optimistic Comparison of British National Healthcare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
An optimistic comparison of British National Healthcare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
During the past 5 years we have heard a great deal of rhetoric regarding socialism and healthcare as a result of the passing of the Affordable Care Act, particularly in how ACA compares to socialized medicine in England and the UK. The concerns of the people regarding socialism are important as our country is founded on capitalist principals, and to change those principals requires a complete shift in our thinking. A close look at the systems in question reveals important aspects for consideration; indeed it is important to be aware of the potential future of the ACA. While the English National Healthcare System and the Affordable Care Act have similarities, funding and administrative differences mean that while the ACA could become socialized, it does not currently fit that label.
The primary concern of the American people concerning the ACA is, understandably, how this system will fit into the capitalist system that we are so very proud of and whether it will be the start of our nation moving toward complete socialism. Merriam-Webster defines socialism as “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”. In other words, the state controls business and commerce directly rather than through governmental regulations. Social services such as Medicare are a form of socialism in that they are administered directly by the government in order to prevent business concerns from interfering with their stated social goal. Unfortunately, in a modern democracy, business concerns have a great deal more impact. Socialized medicine could then be defined as a medical system owned and administered directly by the state without third party intervention. Currently the National Healthcare System employed in England consists of a single
During the past 5 years we have heard a great deal of rhetoric regarding socialism and healthcare as a result of the passing of the Affordable Care Act, particularly in how ACA compares to socialized medicine in England and the UK. The concerns of the people regarding socialism are important as our country is founded on capitalist principals, and to change those principals requires a complete shift in our thinking. A close look at the systems in question reveals important aspects for consideration; indeed it is important to be aware of the potential future of the ACA. While the English National Healthcare System and the Affordable Care Act have similarities, funding and administrative differences mean that while the ACA could become socialized, it does not currently fit that label.
The primary concern of the American people concerning the ACA is, understandably, how this system will fit into the capitalist system that we are so very proud of and whether it will be the start of our nation moving toward complete socialism. Merriam-Webster defines socialism as “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”. In other words, the state controls business and commerce directly rather than through governmental regulations. Social services such as Medicare are a form of socialism in that they are administered directly by the government in order to prevent business concerns from interfering with their stated social goal. Unfortunately, in a modern democracy, business concerns have a great deal more impact. Socialized medicine could then be defined as a medical system owned and administered directly by the state without third party intervention. Currently the National Healthcare System employed in England consists of a single