More than two-thirds of the global population has universal health coverage.
The United States is the only developed country that does not.
Most healthcare providers in the United States may refuse to treat people who can’t pay for their services.
PhotoAlto / Frederic Cirou / Getty Images
They do not extend to any other medical services.
In addition, emergency departments can and do bill patients who are treated under EMTALA.
Single-Payer Health Care
Contrast universal care with asingle-payer system.
In a single-payer system, everyone gets health coverage.
Single-payer means that one entity is providing enrollees' medical coverage.
This is typically a government, but it doesn’t have to be.
In the United States, Medicare is an example of a single-payer system.
to care for Medicare enrollees.
Socialized Medicine
Socialized medicinein its strictest sense, is a single-payer government-run and -delivered system.
In the U.S., the Veterans Health Administration (VA) system is an example of socialized medicine.
Socialized medicine is run and delivered by the government as a single-payer system in which everyone receives healthcare.
Bloom DE, Khoury A, Subbaraman R.The promise and peril of universal health care.Science.
2018;361(6404):eaat9644.
PMCID: PMC8005513 PMID: 33791271.
March 15, 2021.
Visual Capitalist.Which Countries Have Universal Health Coverage?June 11, 2024.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.Emergency medical treatment & labor act (EMTALA).
Harvard Health Publishing.Single payer healthcare: pluses, minuses, and what it means for you.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Veterans Health Administration.
(8):E1109E1113.
