Healthcare Systems Around the World

Abstract

The USA does not have a universal healthcare system, and most Americans receive health insurance through their employers. A smaller subset of the population is enrolled in one of governmental insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, or VA healthcare. Healthcare is also a highly political topic in the country, and politicians and supporters of the two major political parties strongly disagree on the correct approach to healthcare. Recently, there have been many calls for complete overhaul of the US healthcare system and switch toward a universal system similar to that of Canada or the UK. The healthcare outcomes in the USA are difficult to compare to those in the other countries as the potential number of confounding factors is large, although it should be noted that the overall life expectancy in the USA is lower than in most of the other developed countries and the infant mortality rate is generally higher. The USA remains the global leader in medical research and development. The USA also spends a large portion of its GDP on healthcare, higher than most other countries. Many claim that the inefficiencies and the bureaucracy involved in the system is to blame. Even those who have health insurance often struggle to pay the bills as the copays and deductibles are significantly higher than what most Americans have in savings. It should also be noted that the US physicians graduate with significant debt and therefore generally need higher incomes to pay them off when compared to physicians elsewhere. Canada is believed by many to have one of the best and most accessible healthcare systems in the world. The Canadian healthcare system is universal and publicly funded primarily through federal and provincial taxation and is informally referred to as Medicare. National health insurance coverage and access to a basic standard of healthcare is considered to be a fundamental human right of every Canadian citizen across the country. All the countries in the European Union, as well as the UK, provide universal healthcare to all residents. The individual systems vary. In the UK, Italy, and Sweden, the role of private insurance is limited, and almost all the medical services are provided and paid for through the public system. In Germany, the private health insurance is an essential component of the two-tiered system, although it is heavily regulated by the government to limit the annual out-of-pocket expenses. The French system is a mix of the two. The healthcare systems of India, Pakistan, and Latin American countries, despite significant problems, in many ways achieve outcomes that do not differ significantly from those of the developed countries. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and New Zealand are some of the wealthiest countries in the world outside of North America and Europe. Their healthcare systems differ significantly, although each of them provides healthcare to almost all residents regardless of their financial abilities. In all of the aforementioned countries, residents pay some of the healthcare costs out of pocket, although significant safety nets exist. Singapore, unlike other countries, also has a mandatory savings program aimed at helping residents cover healthcare costs, an idea that is popular in some circles in America as well. The Australian and Singaporean systems in particular have been used as templates that the USA could use if a decision is made to restructure the healthcare system. The physicians in all of those countries earn good incomes and life expectancy of their patients is high.