This Vox video summarizes what people and especially politicians mean when they say “single payer healthcare.” It acknowledges that single payer healthcare is a contentious issue – some think that it is the solution to the healthcare system’s issues or “silver bullet” others think that it is government takeover. 

First, Vox describes the current healthcare system in the U.S. that they describe as multiple “tubes” or “thousands and thousands of payer healthcare and each of them pay different amounts for the exact same medical service.” This leads to a lot of administrative work.

In contrast, a single payer system is “just one tube of payments” where all the money comes from the government to the doctors.Vox comments that single payer healthcare is “actually pretty popular” in countries that have adopted single payer.

However, Vox describes that there is a “catch” because the government “gets to decide what they will and will not pay for.” In addition, if the government has not raised enough in taxes for the healthcare plan it could lead to more wait times.

The video ends referencing Vermont’s attempt at creating a single payer healthcare system and the possibility that if a state were to successfully implement a system like that, the country could follow suit.