Health Care comparison between the U.S., Canada, France & England

When one takes a close look at health care in the United States, there is no doubt that things need to be reformed so that the system can be more efficient, effective, and cover more uninsured Americans. According to a report from The World Health Organization U.S. health care system performance in 2000 was ranked at 37th, and overall health of Americans at 72nd place. When you compare the U.S. with other countries such as Canada, France, and England, the U.S. has the highest health care costs of GDP, highest percentage of government revenue spent on health, and it has the lowest percentage of health costs paid by government.

In Canada, the various levels of government pays for about 70% of Canadians' health care costs. One key difference between Canadian and American health care is that all citizens have coverage in Canada, but access can sometimes be limited. Under the terms of the Canada Health Act, the publicly-funded insurance plans are required to pay for medically necessary care, but only if it is delivered in hospitals or by physicians. There is considerable variation across the provinces as to the extent at which such costs as outpatient prescription drugs, physical therapy, long-term care, home care, dental care and even ambulance services are covered.

In France, medicine is based on a widely held value that the healthy should pay for the sick. The sicker you get the less you pay. All French citizens are given universal health coverage. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes and critical surgeries, such as coronary bypass, are reimbursed 100%.

Similar to France, the English have two types of health services. Primary and secondary health services are provided by National Health Service units known as "trusts." Primary Health Care includes health services such as GP's surgeries, dental and optician services. Secondary Health Services consist of specialized health services like, hospitals, ambulences and psychiatric health services. The other method of arranging health care in England is through the outsourcing of treatment to private companies. In comparison to NHS, private health care has limited infrastructure and in most cases cater to the primary health services.

While it is fair to say that none of these countries have a perfect health care system, each country, however, has many positive attributes worth analzying. In doing so, we can further appreciate and see what would work best for our nation when reforming the American health care system.