By Diya Jaiswal
For years, the United States has been known as “land of the free” thanks to the numerous opportunities and diverse cultures. Individuals across the globe aspire to immigrate to the United States in hopes for an improved quality of life. However, a significant concern for most Americans, especially the working class, is health insurance. The health insurance industry is one of the largest in the nation; however, that does not necessarily entail qualities of an equitable system. In contrast, the Nordic country of Finland has set an example for several nations in regards to high-quality public services such as universal healthcare. Even in America, several politicians and activists have praised Finland for its healthcare system due to equitable benefits for all inhabitants.
So what is universal healthcare? Simply put, universal healthcare entails providing all people with all mental and physical health services regardless of individual financial state.
In the United States, the perspectives on universal healthcare are heavily politicized, making it difficult for everyone to be content with one decision. Consequently, private healthcare tied to employment status remains the most common option, applying to around 51% of the nation. Unfortunately, for those who are unemployed, this creates additional challenges should one encounter a health concern during a period of unemployment. It is no surprise that in 2019, 27 million Americans did not have health insurance, typically due to unemployment. During the Obama Administration, the Affordable Care Act was put into place in order to provide healthcare to lower income Americans. However, President Trump has made several attempts to remove the ACA, claiming that it adds additional taxes unnecessarily. Even then, the Affordable Care Act is not applicable to everyone in America. Additionally, the United States has the highest percentage of the GDP per capita spent on healthcare costs. Though this may sound like a better outcome for Americans, long-term care is typically neglected, raising the fatality rates of preventable and detectable illness. This poses a significant barrier for those with lower incomes, as preventative care and even wellness checkups are costly due to the lack of universal healthcare. Those who do not have insurance spend approximately $300-600 per appointment, thus explaining the reason for rare wellness checks. Additionally, private healthcare plans vary in cost and coverage, meaning that even if one has private insurance coverage, differences remain in the extent of coverage.
On the contrary, several Americans argue that the implementation of universal healthcare is simply not feasible, especially due to a population over 330,000,000. Universal healthcare would result in increased taxes for the general population despite the fact that they may not use healthcare services as often. An increase in taxes would cause an uproar among many Americans, especially those who did not have an issue with the current private insurance system. Furthermore, universal healthcare may increase wait times at hospitals for both emergency and elective procedures, as all Americans would have access to healthcare no matter the extent of the injury without fear of cost. Should universal healthcare be implemented, the average wait time to book an appointment with a healthcare provider is greater than 4 weeks. With the schedule of the average family, it is difficult to predict availability over a month in advance, and the issue concerning the patient could escalate rapidly.
Finland, however, has already implemented universal health care for over 130 years. The system remains favorable to 88% of the Finnish population, as well as many Americans. With the affordability of preventive care, the levels of cardiovascular disease have declined along with smoking and drug related concerns. This decline in health concerns has also resulted in a longer life span--- 81 years for women and 73 years for men. Such improvements have placed Finland on the international stage in regards to healthcare policy related affairs. Each of Finland’s municipalities are responsible for providing healthcare to its residents, aiming to ensure patients are seen within 3 days. Due to the effectiveness of primary care appointments, the Finnish government endures significantly less hospital and surgery costs.Though many people against universal healthcare claim that healthcare funding would overwhelm the governmental budget, Finland only allocates 7% of its budget to universal healthcare. As a result, it is proven that when handled properly, healthcare will not consume the nation’s budget disproportionately.
Although Finland’s healthcare system has been acclaimed globally, several negative consequences remain. Firstly, the funding for universal healthcare comes from several tax revenues, providing healthcare despite economic status. Therefore, even if not all inhabitants require healthcare to the same extent, they will still have to pay regardless. Additionally, around 4% of the Finnish population (the highest rate among Nordic countries) claims that the healthcare system did not provide them with necessary services due to hospital/clinic hours of operation and distance. Many Finnish citizens complain that they experience long wait times while in the waiting room due to healthcare providers treating all patients without cost. For this reason, some may approach private clinics for reduced wait times. This disproportionately impacts certain groups who may work long hours, lack reliable transportation, or simply cannot afford private insurance.
While Finland and the United States possess drastically different healthcare systems, both systems have their respective benefits and drawbacks. Rather than entirely acclaiming or condemning a certain approach, it is imperative to learn the differences and then fight for a healthcare system to serve any nation effectively. America’s healthcare system definitely has a lot to learn from Finland and other universal healthcare systems. The United States was founded upon a basis guaranteeing “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all and without effective and affordable healthcare, millions of Americans are being robbed of their unalienable rights.
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