<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (December 2017) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (December 2017) </Td> </Tr> <P> Single - payer healthcare is a healthcare system financed by taxes that covers the costs of essential healthcare for all residents, with costs covered by a single public system (hence' single - payer'). Alternatively, a multi-payer healthcare system is one in which private, qualified individuals or their employers pay for health insurance with various limits on healthcare coverage via multiple private or public sources . </P> <P> Single - payer systems may contract for healthcare services from private organizations (as is the case in Canada) or may own and employ healthcare resources and personnel (as is the case in the United Kingdom). "Single - payer" describes the mechanism by which healthcare is paid for by a single public authority, not the type of delivery or for whom physicians work, which may be public, private, or a mix of both . </P>

What is the idea behind a single payer system of health insurance