Reply #8: Good point [View All]

[BigDaddy44]

The other thing that will need to be addressed is the immediate inbalance that will be created in supply and demand. If everyone immediately has access to health care whenever they are injured or ill, the demand will go up considerably, but the supply will not (the number of doctors won't appreciably change). Imbalances like this are usually handled by changing prices (price goes up, demand goes down), but that wouldn't have an impact as the consumer isn't directly paying. Therefore, when demand outpaces supply, there are shortages (i.e. longer waits).

This is a common problem among countries with universal health care. Thats one of the reasons why this is such a complicated topic.