The bar dominated by the left-hand side of the chart is the United States of America. By Yuasan - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32030396

Tom Taylor is a candidate for Utah’s 4th Congressional District. To show your support, consider a donation at www.tomforutah.com, like him on Facebook (TomForUtah), or follow him on Twitter @TomForUtah.

The United States’ healthcare system has serious problems and has had problems for a long time. The simple fact that no other industrialized nation is pointing to our healthcare system and saying, “I wish we could have that” is a testament to how broken it is. We pay far more as a percentage of GDP on our healthcare than any other industrialized nation and get worse results for it. We pay more than twice as much per capita in the United States as our Canadian neighbors to the north. Our under-five mortality rate is 33% higher than Canada. Canadians have a 3.7% higher life expectancy than we do. The number of women that die during pregnancy or giving childbirth is a staggering 153% higher here in the United States than in Canada.

It doesn’t have to be this way which is why I support HR 676 the Expanded and Improve Medicare for All Act. The idea of a single payer-type system is simple. The government acts as a health insurance company and pays for our care when we go to the doctor. This provides a baseline of care for everyone regardless of race, gender, age, or income level. The reason this concept is so powerful is multifaceted.

It ensures everyone has access to healthcare. No more unnecessary deaths as a result of people’s inability to afford care.

It encourages people to participate in preventative medicine like annual checkups and catch problems before they get more dangerous and more expensive.

It lowers the number of emergency room visits which are incredibly expensive and are used by those that don’t have health insurance.

It eliminates the “in-network” shell game that frustrates so many Americans. Instead of being confused by which doctors take what insurance or being surprised with an enormous out-of-network bill that comes months after your visit, you can know that when you go to the doctor you will be covered.

It reduces an incredible amount of administrative waste in our healthcare system. Right now, for every three doctors there are two people sitting at a computer trying to navigate the confusing web of health insurance networks.

It drives down costs by increasing bargaining power.

It removes the connection between healthcare and your employer. Millions of Americans are stuck in jobs that they hate because they need the health insurance. How many potential entrepreneurs didn’t start a business because they were too scared to be uninsured?

Not only does Medicare of All save lives by giving us the care that we need, but it saves money. Why is our country so insistent on adding duct tape fixes to a crumbling system so that health insurance companies can continue to reap enormous profits off our misfortune? In our current system, health insurance companies save money and make higher profits when they find ways to deny care to people. The financial incentive to increase profits drives health insurance companies to hire sophisticated legal firms to find the loophole in your insurance plan that will deny you care when you need it most. Medicare for All removes that profit motive and focuses healthcare where it should be — on making you healthy. It should be no wonder that 60% of Americans believe the government should be responsible for ensuring health coverage.

A couple of years back, my wife developed a tumor. Although the tumor later tested to be benign, I can remember how scared I was waiting for the results. This woman was the love of my life and the mother to my child. Could she die because she got cancer? Would I be forced to raise my child by myself? To make matters worse, I was forced to think about the mounting medical bills that would accompany the cancer treatments. If the tumor proved to be cancerous I might not only lose the person that is most important to me, but I might go bankrupt in the process. In the richest country in the world, no citizen should be put in that position.

It’s time that we join the rest of the industrialized nations in guaranteeing healthcare for everyone. Not only is Medicare for All the smart thing to do, it’s the humane thing to do.