Generally, it is understood that modern countries of the world are developed in all areas, including healthcare, and that poor health is an affliction of poor, underdeveloped countries. However, inadequate healthcare is prevalent in all countries, and no country has a perfect healthcare structure. Health is a basic human right and health care is an indispensable part of a modern and constantly developing society.
United States of America
In the United States, healthcare is a complex combination of public and private services. The military and veteran healthcare systems, as well as the Indian Health Service and a number of vulnerable population programmes, are all operated by the government. Poor children who do not qualify for Medicaid are covered through the State Children's Health Insurance Program. In both urban and rural locations, there are also government-funded healthcare centres for underserved people.
Aside from these government programmes, private insurance supplied by an employer or purchased by people provides coverage. Public health services are provided by local health departments. The healthcare system in the United States is broad and expensive. Healthcare expenditures accounted for 16 percent of GDP in 2008, compared to the OECD average of 9 percent.
This is due in part to the extent of technology that has been produced and utilized in the healthcare industry. To further reduce healthcare expenses, the government might implement a pharmaceutical price reference system, refusing to pay more than the average cost of a drug in the two bordering countries, Canada and Mexico. Despite the fact that the United States spends a lot of money on healthcare, there are still some locations where care is deficient. In locations where there are no accessible facilities, the government should subsidise new facilities or extensions to local health departments.
Uneven access to healthcare is another issue. Overcrowding in emergency rooms is a problem with the present healthcare system, as people without access to care use the ER for non-urgent health issues. To guarantee that everyone has physical access to care, the government should provide financial incentives for students to attend medical school, particularly primary care students.
Canada
Canada's healthcare system is based on Medicare, a national health insurance system funded by federal and provincial governments. This system covers 97% of the population and the remaining 3% is covered by other government programs. Provincial health care plans are subject to the rules of the Canadian Health Act of 1970, but the specifics vary from province to province.
The Canadian economy struggled in the 1990s and the federal government cut the health budget. The federal government's financial contribution to the health budget has declined over the past decades. Declining healthcare funding has led to a number of problems in Canada's healthcare system, including long wait times and low availability of medical technology. Long wait times for health-related procedures may be exacerbated in the future by workforce shifts.
In 2006, there were only 11 CT scanners per million people in Canada, compared with 32.2 per million people in the United States. This can be done by offering scholarships to new medical and nursing students. As long as health care funding is continuously cut, the problem of one-time access restrictions will remain.
To eliminate this problem, more money needs to be allocated to the health care system. This exacerbates the system problems. This will increase access to healthcare and reduce wait times while creating more job opportunities.
UK
Healthcare in the UK is provided by a mixture of private and public sectors. The National Health Service is the public health care system that includes all legal British citizens. Healthcare in the UK is provided by GPs at the primary level, and patients are then referred to specialists for further care if needed.
This is not only due to a lack of medical manpower, but also due to the need for more technology and equipment. The solutions to both of these problems involve increasing public spending on health. Increasing salaries for government healthcare workers will encourage more students to pursue careers in healthcare. An aging population, more staffing needs, and new technology are all factors that are driving up healthcare costs.
The percentage of GDP spent on healthcare in the UK is below the OECD average. If healthcare continues to be free at the point of delivery, the UK government will need to allocate more money to healthcare. The government plans to raise the value-added tax to 20% in January 2011. If increased taxes and increased government health care subsidies do not generate enough revenue to continue providing free healthcare, small copays should be added to doctor visits. and hospital stay.
Germany
Healthcare in Germany is set up on the basis of the Bismark model, which began in 1883 with the Health Insurance Act. This system is a combination of public insurance and private insurance. Public insurance is funded by the financial contributions of employees and employers. Private insurance is mainly used by self-employed people and the wealthy.
Public insurance covers the vast majority of the population. There are separate benefits for each of the three compulsory insurance categories, including health insurance, accident insurance, and long-term care insurance. This means there is an annual limit on the amount used for healthcare. While this can help keep costs from rising, it results in money being allocated to some resources at the expense of budgets going to other resources.
Hospitals that don't have flexibility in their budgets for the year avoid major expenditures, such as technology, to ensure they have enough money for essential needs. As the population ages, more money will be needed for health care, especially for the treatment of chronic diseases. To maintain the German system, more money must be spent, the money spent must be used more efficiently, or both. One possible strategy is to invest money in creating an organization that collects data from public hospitals each year and analyzes how hospitals spend their money.
This will give a better understanding of where to cut money and where to add. Perhaps making these and perhaps other benefits part of private insurance could only ease the cost burden on the government system. Patients can purchase small private insurance plans to supplement their public coverage based on their individual health needs.
Korea
In Korea, the National Health Insurance program (NHI) covers 97% of the population. Healthcare funds come from insurance premiums, employer contributions, government subsidies, and out-of-pocket payments. Healthcare is provided in hospitals and clinics, the majority of which are privately owned and concentrated in urban areas. There is currently an imbalance in the funding and provision of healthcare in Korea that must be improved before access to care will be adequate and equal for everyone.
Growth in healthcare spending is twice the OECD average. However, expenditure is only 6.5% of GDP while the OECD average rests at 9%. Because government spending is still low, Koreans face extensive out-of-pocket costs for care. The problem is compounded by a lack of insurance coverage for preventative and primary care.
When citizens need primary care they visit doctors in the private sector and are forced to pay for this care themselves. Many healthcare problems in Korea are due to inherent weaknesses in the system. Along with suicides, the number of smokers in Korea is extremely high. Smoking in public places has been banned in certain parts of Korea.
Public education needs to start early in life to change the culture of smoking encouragement among men. Anti-smoking education programs should be brought to public schools and should be targeted at young and older students alike. Insurance should also cover smoking-cessation drugs, and healthcare professionals should encourage patients to quit. Another problem in healthcare provision is the inadequate amount of healthcare personnel.
In 2008 there were 1.9 doctors per 1,000 population, and the OECD average was 3.2. There were 4.4 nurses per 1,000 population in 2008, and the OECD average was 9. The government has to make health a priority and increase the pay of public healthcare workers along with reimbursement rates of private personnel. The government should use a price-reference system to set the cost of medications.
Nigeria
Nigerian healthcare is in a dismal state. In the public Nigerian healthcare system, care is available from PHC centers, health clinics, health posts, and hospitals. There is also a private healthcare system made of for-profit and not-for-profit institutions. In addition to the public and private systems, there is an informal system.
None of these subsystems are effective in delivering highly accessible quality care to the Nigerian citizens. An important barrier to healthcare in Nigeria is the lack of proper infrastructure. Nigeria does not have adequate roads, drinking water, sewage systems, trash disposal, transportation, or electricity. Another devastating part of the healthcare system is a lack of child and maternal care.
Because most of the population of Nigeria cannot access the public healthcare system, an informal sector of unregistered healthcare workers providing unregulated care exists. In order to solve the complications of Nigeria’s infrastructure and healthcare system, the government must increase spending dramatically. The government should finance infrastructural reform to bring clean piped water and electricity to the entire population. Facilities should be built in urban and rural areas to provide maternal and child care.
Through these facilities, women and children will get all of their vaccinations. Public health information and family planning education will also be provided here. Once access to healthcare increases, the informal sector should diminish. Once adequate facilities are built, they must be staffed.
Many of the Nigerian healthcare personnel leave the country upon graduation. In addition to these changes, private companies should be encouraged to develop areas of Nigeria with shopping malls, grocery stores, and restaurants. The government and NGOs should also make an effort to build new schools, especially in rural areas. In order for the government to finance these changes, it needs to use the country’s natural resources effectively.
Mexico
Healthcare in Mexico is predominantly public. Social security organizations cover many workers and are funded by the government, the employer, and the employee. This includes people who are self-employed, unemployed, and workers of the informal sector. Healthcare is provided in public and private hospitals and primary care facilities.
The quality of healthcare in Mexico needs improvement. Healthcare needs to be available to the entire country. Government or NGO-financed primary care clinics should be built for rural and indigenous communities and in urban areas that do not have clinics. Services should be available to everyone whether they are covered by social security, the Seguro Popular, or private health insurance.
The number of healthcare workers in Mexico is severely under the number that is necessary to provide quality care. Mexico ranks last of all OECD countries in number of CT scanners, number of radiation therapy units, and number of mammographs. To encourage increases in healthcare workers, the government needs to increase pay for public workers and either help pay for medical school or offer schooling for free. The government needs to allocate more money toward healthcare.
In 2006 it spent 6.5% of the GDP on healthcare, and the OECD average is 9%. The public expenditure is extremely low, yet the majority of healthcare facilities are public. Most private-care expenses are paid out-of-pocket. The government needs to increase its spending on the public healthcare system in order to increase facilities, decrease waiting times, and improve access and quality.
In order to divert some financial burden away from the government, private insurance companies should be started. Bank-financed private facilities could then be built. This would increase access to care, and competition between private facilities would increase quality and availability of technology. The government also needs to continue its support of the Seguro Popular program to ensure coverage for all citizens.
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