The Costs of Universal Health Care

By Christopher Ryan

The American Medical Association (AMA) published a summary of what it sees as the costs of adopting or failing to adopt universal health care in the U.S. While not all of the costs can be directly translated into dollars, below is a summary that tells the story from both points of view.

To Have

To establish a universal health care system in the U.S., it would cost in theory:

• $34-$69 billion per year for the additional health care that the uninsured would use because they have insurance

• $26 billion annually for health-care costs that the uninsured now pay out-of-pocket

• $34.6 billion a year for care that is currently provided for free

• An unspecified amount for people who are now privately insured but who might use more health-care services if they were covered by universal health care.

Not To Have

To continue without universal health care in the U.S., the costs would be:

• $65-$130 billion annually for diminished health and shorter life spans

• Unspecified costs for uninsured children whose development is delayed because of poor health that also affects their earning capacity as adults

• More unspecified costs to the Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, and criminal justice systems because the uninsured require more care because of their poorer health

Based on Institute of Medicine estimates, the AMA concludes that, at minimum, adopting universal health care would cost $34-$69 billion a year. Failing to adopt universal health care would cost, at minimum, $65-$130 billion annually.

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