Single-payer healthcare

A healthcare financing system in which one public entity pays for covered services, usually funded through taxation. Care may still be delivered by public or private providers.

Universal health coverage: A condition in which everyone can obtain needed health services without financial hardship. Single-payer financing is one route to broad coverage, but universal coverage can use other arrangements.
Multi-payer healthcare: A healthcare financing system in which multiple insurers or public payers cover services. It distributes purchasing and payment across several organizations rather than one payer.
Medicare for All: A United States policy proposal for expanding or creating public health insurance for broad populations. It is a prominent proposal to establish single-payer coverage in the United States.
Administrative costs in healthcare: Expenses for managing healthcare financing and delivery, including billing, claims, and insurance administration. A single payer can simplify billing, though its actual administrative savings depend on design.
Health insurance: A system for pooling financial risk and paying some or all costs of healthcare. Single-payer healthcare centralizes the insurance function in one public entity.
National health insurance: A system in which a national public program finances healthcare, often while private providers deliver it. The term overlaps with single-payer, but can describe a broader range of public insurance designs.
Canadian Medicare: Canada’s publicly financed system of provincial and territorial health insurance for medically necessary hospital and physician services. It is a well-known single-payer arrangement, with administration divided among provinces and territories.
Monopsony: A market structure in which one buyer has substantial power over sellers. A public payer may use concentrated purchasing power to negotiate or set prices.
Taxation: The compulsory collection of money by governments to fund public services and obligations. Taxes commonly finance the public payer’s healthcare spending.
Social health insurance: A system financed mainly through mandatory contributions to sickness funds or insurance institutions. It commonly uses multiple funds, unlike a single-payer arrangement.

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