Office Hours: Scott Atlas on Single Payer

Published: October 3, 2017

Hoover Institution senior fellow Scott Atlas responds to your questions on health care reform and single payer proposals.

1. 0:20 – What is single payer health care?
2. 1:21 – Every other developed country has a version of single payer. Aren’t we leaving low-income Americans without care by not adopting a single payer system?
3. 3:58 – What role should the government play in providing health care to low-income Americans?
4. 4:58 – The United States spends more on health care per capita than any other country and doesn’t appear to have superior life expectancy or infant mortality rates. Doesn’t that mean our health care system is worse?
5. 7:17 – Why shouldn’t Americans just adopt a “Medicare for All” system?
6. 10:39 – Isn’t the government the only way to hold down health care costs?

Many people support a single payer health care system because they believe it would cover more people at a lower cost. But it is important to consider the trade offs to care, access, and wait times that come with single payer. Expanding coverage to more people is expensive, and high costs mean the government has no choice but to reduce access to certain drugs, procedures, and doctors. For more information, visit: http://hvr.co/2xVkbqY.

Watch the original video “Is Single Payer Right For America?”.