Informal Logica Final Paper

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Should the United States have a Single-Payer Health Care System? University of Arizona Global Campus PHI103 Informal Logic Professor October 17, 2022

2 In the United States of America, roughly 26 million people are living without health insurance (Seits, 2022). Despite being the wealthiest country in the world, America falls behind in providing guaranteed access to health care that is affordable to all its citizens. Many believe that universal healthcare would fix this problem and ensure that all citizens, from poor to wealthy, are insured. However, some believe this system will not benefit the United States. In fact, they think it will lead the country into a deficit and cost the country many other problems (ProCon.org, 2019). Before considering adopting this system, many facts need to be considered. In this paper, we will explore both sides of the question Should the U.S Have a Single-Payer Healthcare System? I will demonstrate a strong argument stating why the US needs to adopt a single-payer healthcare system and a strong argument stating why it should not adopt a single- payer healthcare system. I will then present my argument that the US should adopt a single-payer healthcare system and address an objection to my argument. This paper will conclude with fair- minded analysis of the best reasoning on both sides of this topic. The argument that The US Should Have a Single-Payer Health Care System In the past few years, there has been a rise in Americans who believe the US government is responsible for providing a single-payer healthcare system for all to have health care coverage. Proponents believe that a single-payer system will give us the right to universal health care, the right we deserve, and save the country money (Diamond, n.d.). This is the argument in standard form: Premise 1: “American people are coming to see health care as a right” (Galea, 2017). Premise 2: Guaranteed access to affordable and quality health care is a right, not a privilege. Premise 3: With an increase of 5% since January, 33% of Americans support single-payer systems (Galea, para. 4).

3 Premise 4: Other rich countries like Canada have successfully adopted single-payer systems (Yu & Zhang, 2017). Premise 5: Costs are reduced in a single-payer system (Galea, 2017). Conclusion: The United States should adopt a single-payer health care system as a right that all citizens of the USA should have affordable and quality health care. The Argument that The US Should not Have a Single-Payer Health Care System On the contrary, opponents of a single-payer health care system believe that it will not benefit the US and that the government should not oversee the health care system. This is the argument in standard form: Premise 1: A single-payer healthcare system in the USA may trigger political resistance from companies, the government, doctors, and big pharma (Blumberg & Holahan, 2019). Premise 2: Most Americans dislike change and will be against this new health care system. Premise 3: A single-payer healthcare system may increase taxes and federal healthcare spending by more than 50% (Blumberg & Holahan, 2019). Premise 4: Hospitals' revenues and doctor salaries may decrease if the USA adopts a single-payer health care system (Blumberg & Holahan, 2019). Premise 5: A new healthcare system may cause inflation. Conclusion: The United States should not have a single-payer healthcare system because the changes will cause political resistance, tax increase, low salaries for doctors and hospitals, and inflation.

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4 Analysis of the Arguments Scholarly and credible sources support both arguments. In both arguments, the premises and conclusion are stated clearly and briefly. The premises also provide support for the conclusion. The arguments are not deductively valid; however, the truth of the premises makes the conclusion probable, making it inductively strong. I encountered fallacies, biases, and rhetorical tricks committed by both arguments. These will contribute to undermining the logic of both arguments. A fallacy I spotted on the proponent side was one of the common fallacies called Begging the Question. For example, the premise that “Guaranteed access to affordable and quality health care is a right, not a privilege” persuades and assumes that health care is a right and not a privilege. I came across misleading and manipulative tactics on both sides of the argument. I encountered stereotypes of groups of people that were assumed not to have health care coverage based on their economic status. In addition, I noticed how researchers used rhetorical devices such as euphemisms even in peer-reviewed articles. They would use euphemisms indirectly not to offend a particular economic class. Both proponent and opponent arguments were strong. They provided true premises and supported their conclusion. Determining which argument is stronger comes down to perspective and even experience. Someone who has never dealt with being uninsured will most likely never understand the struggle of the uninsured. Therefore, I believe the US should have a single-payer health care system. In my opinion, the evidence for adopting this universal health care outweighed the reasons not to.

5 Presentation of My Argument According to the research that I have conducted and my evaluation of reasoning, I present my reason as to why I believe The US Should have a Single-Payer Health Care System: Premise 1: Health care is a human right. Premise 2: “Under a single-payer system, we would be healthier” (Troy, 2018). Premise 3: Health care will be affordable to all Americans. Premise 4: Increasing access to longer-term health services and support of dental and vision coverage will benefit the event wealthy (Blumberg & Holahan, 2019). Premise 5: A single-payer healthcare system would get us closer to equality, especially for uninsured and underinsured Americans (Christopher, 2016). Premise 6: A single-payer system can help direct healthcare spending towards public healthcare measures such as finding cures and preventing diseases (Christopher, 2016). Conclusion: The US should have a single-payer healthcare system because it is a human right, and by having free affordable healthcare, we would have a healthier unified population and extra money to find cures and prevent diseases. Response to an Objection to the Argument Although my argument is backed up by research and the truth of the premises supports my conclusion, many objections could still arise. For instance, an objection to my argument could be that not all citizens will be “healthier” just because we adopt a single-payer healthcare system. Adopting universal health care does not necessarily mean that all citizens would be healthier. Mental health, obesity, heart failure, and diabetes are at an all-time high in America. Ultimately, it all comes down to an individual wanting to be healthy and doing what is necessary to keep themselves healthy, not universal health care coverage.

6 Although the objection to my argument is strong, my response is based on extensive research done by researchers to answer this question. With a single-payer healthcare system in the USA, citizens can focus more on seeing their doctor regularly without worrying about the cost of visiting the provider. According to the American Public Health Association, hospitals and clinics will be free to provide for their patients based on need. They will equally accept all patients (para. 1). Also, patients can avoid such health problems by partnering up with their providers and receiving preventative services and education as well as treatments and diagnoses without facing cost barriers. Therefore, citizens can be healthier or become healthier when they have costs or restrictions when visiting their doctor. Conclusion In conclusion, the US should have a single-payer healthcare system because ALL citizens are entitled to affordable healthcare as a human right. Although this does not guarantee that all of the population will be healthy, it can help them receive services and education to prevent diseases without insurance burdens. A critical thinker should understand both sides of controversial topics. Each side has important questions and information to help them understand the topic's logic and connection. This allows critical thinkers to have an open mind and access information correctly. It is important not to avoid controversial topics; instead, to learn how to handle them.

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7 References American Public Health Association. (2021, October 26). Adopting a single-payer health system. https://www.apha.org/Policies-and-Advocacy/Public-Health-Policy-Statements/Policy- Database/2022/01/07/Adopting-a-Single-Payer-Health-System#:~:text=This %20approach%20benefits%20public%20health,care%20reimbursed%20equally%20for %20all. Blumberg, L. J. & Holahan, J. (March 2019 ). The pros and cons of single-payer health plans . Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99918/pros_and_cons_of_a_single- payer_plan.pdf Christopher, A. S. (2016, June 27). Single-payer healthcare: Pluses, minuses, and what it means for you. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/single-payer- healthcare-pluses-minuses-means-201606279835 Diamond, M. A. (n.d.). Con: Single-payer health care why it’s not the best answer. ATS Journals, 180(10). https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.200906-0882ED Galea, S. (2017, July 18). Is the U.S ready for a single-payer health care system? Harvard Business Review. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=3&sid=a5c92ad8-521c-4058-8a98-ddf5a6ce9179%40redis ProCon.org. (2019, February). Should all Americans have the right (be entitled) to health care? https://healthcare.procon.org/ Seitz, A. (2022, August 2). Number of uninsured Americans drops to an all-time low. PBS NEWS HOUR. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/number-of-uninsured-americans-

8 drops-to-an-all-time-low#:~:text=Roughly%2026%20million%20people%20remain,said %20in%20a%20statement%20Tuesday . Troy, A. (2018, August 27). There are many advantages to single-payer health care. Physicians for a National Health Program PNHP. https://pnhp.org/news/there-are-many-advantages- to-single-payer-health-care/ Yu, J. & Zhang, Yi. (June 2017). Comparison of single-payer and non-single-payer health care systems: A study of health administration efficiency. Scientific Research An Academic Publisher. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=77092

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