M3HW Comparing Health Systems

Health Systems of Other Nations

Several elements of other industrialized countries’ health systems would enhance the delivery of patient care to Americans if incorporated in the United States healthcare system. The first element is the national health insurance. Countries like Canada have a government-run health insurance program covering all citizens for a well- rounded medical benefits package. On the contrary, the US has no single universal health insurance program (Frogner et al., 2015).  Here, consumers purchase health insurance in private markets. Insurance is also provided by the government, only for specific populations. Incorporating government-run insurance coverage will improve Americans’ health by improving access to all populations, including minorities.

The second element concerns the reimbursement process. Unlike nations such as Europe and Canada, where a singer payer is a norm, the United States embraces a multi-payer system (Cai et al., 2020).  Here, third parties such as the federal government and commercial health insurance companies are charged with reimbursing health professionals. Fee for service is the most common form of reimbursement. Here, physicians can charge whatever they want for their services.  Adopting a single-payer system will be beneficial to Americans as they will have a wider range of doctors and would not have to switch physicians after changing plans. Similarly, the continuity of care would improve with this type of system.M3HW Comparing Health Systems

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The third element relates to the affordability of care. Americans face numerous financial barriers that limit their access to care compared to other developed countries. These include co-payments, insurance deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses. These force patients to undergo the most needed care. Eliminating these barriers will improve care access for the American population and encourage patients to seek preventive care. Through this, Americans would afford high-quality care

References

Cai, C., Runte, J., Ostrer, I., Berry, K., Ponce, N., Rodriguez, M., Bertozzi, S., White, J. S., & Kahn, J. G. (2020). Projected costs of single-Payer healthcare financing in the United States: A systematic review of economic analyses. PLOS Medicine, 17(1), e1003013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003013

Frogner, B. K., Frech, H., & Parente, S. T. (2015). Comparing efficiency of health systems across industrialized countries: A panel analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-1084-9

M3HW Comparing Health Systems