This
blog post is in reference to PBS’s frontline report, “Sick Around the World”,
which touches upon T.R. Reid’s experiences in the United Kingdom, Japan ,
Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland. His goal is to explore these countries health
systems with correspondence to their success and failures within each system.
The United States healthcare system is more or less a market rather than a
healthcare provider, ranking 37th around the world. It is obvious
that we need to take action, and reform our healthcare. Much information to
benefit our own healthcare can be taken from these five countries. I am going
to briefly summarize each countries healthcare system i, and prepare my own
evaluation for what the American health system should adopt from these other
countries.
United Kingdom Health System:
This
health system is owned by the government, employing doctors with salary based
positions. The UK system is known as the National Health Service (NHS), which
provides all citizens with medical coverage. Not one person has to ever pay a
medical bill, and yet there still is no medical bankruptcy because the British
taxes are higher in order to cover the nation’s medical expenses. The hospitals
compete with each other to survive because their patients must be places on
waiting lists and without patients they do not receive government funding.
Japan’s Health System:
Japan
is a capitalistic economy with no natural resources and yet still spends half
as much as US healthcare. They have the longest life expectancy and lowest
infant mortality rate and yet government covers all citizens; any place, at any
time, at a cheap price. Nearly 80% of hospitals are private, but yet the government
regulates a manual for pricing all medical expenses (Wounds, surgery,
MRI...Etc.). The fact of the matter is they provide these services at such a
cheap price, the cost benefit is that the people are healthy but in the long
run 50% of Japan’s hospitals are in financial deficit because they are too
cheap!
Germany Health Service:
Germany
is the 3rd richest economy in the world and is the most comparable country to
the US besides their healthcare
system. They provide a Bismarck model which offers healthcare to all citizens
covering all expenses where they only have to pay premiums (average 15 Euros)
based on income to private insurers (240+). In addition to this Pregnant women
do not have to pay anything. Germany’s system wants sickness funds to grow to
cut administrative costs even though all doctors are salary based compared to
UK. Therefore the side effect is that doctors
do not feel they are paid enough for their services. Even though doctors are
not paid as much, their medical school did not cost anything and their overhead
is just a fraction the cost compared to American doctors making it much cheaper
to be a doctor in the long run.
Taiwan healthcare system:
The
Taiwan healthcare system is unique in the sense they base their values on the
concept that they must follow the tracks of successful healthcare systems and
correct the mistakes made by previous healthcare systems. When creating their
healthcare system they looked at 10-15 other countries creating this analogy, “The
Taiwan healthcare system is a car with foreign parts, manufactured
domestically.” In the end, the Taiwan system includes everyone and is similar
to Japans besides the part where Taiwan has only one government insurance to
collect all the money which covers nearly any medical practice, no waiting time
either. This government insurance system consists of all medical history recorded
on an Identification card, and all medical bills are directly sent to
government insurance agency. The idea to provide to everyone at a low cost eventually
leads to the realization they spend too little on healthcare, and do not have
enough money to pay for medical expenses which they must increase in order to
prevent future government debts.
Switzerland healthcare system:
Switzerland
provides Universal healthcare coverage which once resembled America’s
healthcare system in 1994. With a few provisions their system guarantees that
all citizens covered by any insurance will be entitled to basic medical care
and that doctors cannot profit off basic care, but can from advance care
(surgery, acupuncture ETC.) They believe it is the basic human right to be
entitled to healthcare and so do their insurance providers because there is extreme
competition for services and prices between insurance companies trying to pay
faster than other companies and lower premium coverage to build and sustain
clients.
Overall,
the United States is considered to be a horrible provider for healthcare view
upon as a market rather than a provider. Our constitution states our rights as
a human but never once mentions the basic human right to healthcare. I believe
the best approach to fix our healthcare system is to provide to everyone at a
standard price for all health services nationwide. Like other systems the
wealthy have an opportunity to back out of the system. They should only cover
basic necessities, and should lower premium rates so that the insurance
companies are not the ones benefiting rather it be the patients. In the end
both with benefit and see success within the system but we should never take away
the right to healthcare from anyone, rich or poor. This report was very informing
and made me thing about how we go about our healthcare system, and how we are
being ripped off and stripped of our human rights. 