Basics: Socialized v/s Single-Payer v/s Universal Healthcare

Every once in a while, this blog might go into a "tutorial mode" - but that's more so for me than for you fellas, since teaching is the best form of learning and there is a lot for me yet to learn !

Socialized Medicine / Healthcare: System of healthcare delivery where the government owns the healthcare facilities and all healthcare providers are direct employees of the government

e.g. Britain's NHS

Single-Payer System: Where a single insurance entity pays for all the health care but the facilities and healthcare providers themselves are mostly privately owned - which could either be the government (e.g. Canada) or be an insurance firm (e.g. If Medicare were to cover all Americans)

Universal Health Care: A concept in a different domain from the two above, this was what Hillary Clinton was pushing for : A system where all citizens are required to carry compulsary health insurance, but the insurance itself can be provided by various competiting insurance firms (e.g. Holland)