Public Health Care: Debates, Challenges & Solutions - Essay Sample

Introduction

Public health care is an issue that has sparked debates both on the social, political, as well as the economic platforms. Moreover, it continues to be a challenge in most countries around the world. Over the years, several opinions have been raised regarding the most effective approach to the matter. Countries such as the United States have adopted capitalist strategies in dealing with public health care, while others like Canada and Mexico have implemented the socialist perspective (Ku et al., 2017). This discussion entails a comparison of the health care system used in the US and Canada. It also involves a personal commentary regarding the two different models.

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Analysis

According to the US Health Care Reform reports, the United States spends more funds on health care on individuals than any other country in the world (Papanicolas et al., 2018). For instance, in a 1992 report, over 14 percent of the Gross Domestic Product was spent on health care. In the 2019 analysis, the US spent an averagely 1,443 dollars per person on pharmaceutical drugs. The recent reports also revealed that the monthly cost of long-acting insulin costs 186 dollars in the US while the same pharmaceutical product retails at a third of the price in Canada (Papanicolas et al., 2018). According to a review that was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, American respondents noted that they were dissatisfied with the health care system, and therefore it needed to be changed (Adler et al., 2017). The residents provided the information because of the increasing concerns about the higher infant mortality rate as well as, the fewer doctors per capita.

Canada is one of the countries in the world with a socialized health system, implying that the government runs a non-profit health insurance entity. However, despite its approach, the government also tolerates private physicians and health centers in the country. Currently, Canada uses the “Medicare for All” program, and this allows insurance coverage for all the citizens. Despite the conflicting reports that show resistance to the system, 94 percent of the Canadians maintain that the socialist approach to health care is a pride for their country (Ku et al., 2017).

Key Differences

Insurance Coverage

Although people achieve their health needs through health insurance both in Canada and the United States, the funding for the programs differs in the two countries. In the United States, individuals pay for their insurance covers. However, some of them are exempted from funding the insurance companies due to issues such as disabilities, age, and income. Moreover, not all employers provide health insurance covers for their employees. In cases where individuals do not acquire medical covers at their workplaces, they are expected to process on their own. In Canada, on the other hand, the government funds health insurance covers through the provincial authorities. However, this depends on adherence to the Canada Health Act (CHA) regulations (Ku et al., 2017). The funding helps all the citizens to acquire health insurance.

Private Health Insurance Providers and Competition

In the United States, individuals acquire health insurance covers from private entities that act as primary providers. Therefore, the companies compete for customers, including employers, as well as individual consumers. Besides, they create client bases based on their cost, quality, as well as a medical specialty. Although individual consumers control the market to a specific extent, their choices are limited depending on the type of offers rendered by the providers. In Canada, on the other hand, most of the services are offered by private providers, including physicians and independently owned hospitals. However, instead of acquiring their pay through claims, they receive funding from the government.

Types of Care

In the US, the health insurance covers offered on the provisions of the employers or the consumer needs and affordability. However, following the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, residents are expected to acquire a minimum essential coverage (Papanicolas et al., 2018). In Canada, individuals have limits of packages that they can receive from medical practitioners or hospitals. Besides, the provincial governments are expected to issue health insurance covers for additional services, for instance, mental health, dental care, as well as home care.

Pros and Cons of the Systems

The Canadian system of health care receives enormous support from the locals because it involves straightforward processes (Ku et al., 2017). Moreover, it allows for private insurance, and also people are responsible for their own wellbeing. However, some of the costs at the hospitals are misrepresented, and also it takes a long time to receive reports such as the magnetic resonance imaging scans. On the other hand, the American system is advantageous because taxpayers do not pay for medical insurance for every other single individual. Besides, people with better jobs acquire great health covers. However, according to critics, individuals spend a lot on health care. Despite this, a great percentage of the residents are uninsured or underinsured (Ku et al., 2017).

Personal Reflection

The Canadian socialist approach is better than the American system because citizens do not bear the burden of acquiring insurance covers at high costs. Instead, the government uses taxpayers’ money to fund health processes.

Conclusion

Although there are differences between the health care systems, both of them focus on consumer protection. Therefore, this implies that the main goal of the models is to improve the health of the residents in the countries. Besides, both approaches work towards safeguarding the rivalry in the industry because the competition promotes innovation. However, American residents fear their health care accessibility, while half of the population worry that they might not be able to cater for major illness expenses.

References

Adler, L., Fiedler, M., & Gronniger, T. (2017). Effects of the medicaid per capita cap included in the house-passed American Health Care Act. Washington, DC: Center for Health Policy at Brookings & USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/effects-of-the-medicaid-per-capita-cap-included-in-the-house-passed-american-health-care-act/

Ku, L., Steinmetz, E., Brantley, E., Holla, N., & Bruen, B. K. (2017). The American Health Care Act: Economic and Employment Consequences for States. The Commonwealth Fund.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28613067/

Papanicolas, I., Woskie, L. R., & Jha, A. K. (2018). Health care spending in the United States and other high-income countries. Jama, 319(10), 1024-1039.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29536101/.