Healthcare
Jamie Olszewski
Healthcare Paper 2013
Introduction to Public Health
Will my insurance cover all of my medical costs? How much medical debt do you need before you can file bankruptcy? Do people commonly file bankruptcy because of medical bills? These are questions American citizens are facing with the failing health care system in the United States. As we, The United States of America, enter a new time, with new laws and a new health care reform act rolling into play, we should explore all options; gain ideas from other countries where no citizen goes without insurance coverage. What a great idea England has with providing bonuses to their government salaried doctors for maintaining their patients’ health. A British doctor doesn’t necessarily make himself money on the quantity of patients he sees, but the quality of health in the patients he provides for. In Japan, not a single citizen lives without health insurance. Each Japanese citizen is required to sign up for coverage and those who cannot afford it receive government assistance to cover costs. In Germany no individual is denied Sickness Funds or private health insurance because of pre-existing conditions; which is quite different from Americans, who are denied care daily due to pre-existing conditions. Taiwan created a new healthcare system with ONE government run insurance plan. Every person in Taiwan is covered under this one insurance plan, which has helped Taiwan maintain the lowest administrative cost in the world for healthcare. Maybe the United States should follow Switzerland, who also took on healthcare reform not too long ago. Since 1994, Switzerland has required every single citizen to purchase health insurance and providing it to those who cannot afford it. It is amazing to see smart ways other countries have eliminated costs for the citizens of their country by minimizing the competition among health insurance companies and health providers. No healthcare system in the world is
Healthcare Paper 2013
Introduction to Public Health
Will my insurance cover all of my medical costs? How much medical debt do you need before you can file bankruptcy? Do people commonly file bankruptcy because of medical bills? These are questions American citizens are facing with the failing health care system in the United States. As we, The United States of America, enter a new time, with new laws and a new health care reform act rolling into play, we should explore all options; gain ideas from other countries where no citizen goes without insurance coverage. What a great idea England has with providing bonuses to their government salaried doctors for maintaining their patients’ health. A British doctor doesn’t necessarily make himself money on the quantity of patients he sees, but the quality of health in the patients he provides for. In Japan, not a single citizen lives without health insurance. Each Japanese citizen is required to sign up for coverage and those who cannot afford it receive government assistance to cover costs. In Germany no individual is denied Sickness Funds or private health insurance because of pre-existing conditions; which is quite different from Americans, who are denied care daily due to pre-existing conditions. Taiwan created a new healthcare system with ONE government run insurance plan. Every person in Taiwan is covered under this one insurance plan, which has helped Taiwan maintain the lowest administrative cost in the world for healthcare. Maybe the United States should follow Switzerland, who also took on healthcare reform not too long ago. Since 1994, Switzerland has required every single citizen to purchase health insurance and providing it to those who cannot afford it. It is amazing to see smart ways other countries have eliminated costs for the citizens of their country by minimizing the competition among health insurance companies and health providers. No healthcare system in the world is
References: Focus on Health Reform (n.d.) Retrieved from www.kff.org Palfreman, J. (Producer and Director) & Reid, T.R. (Co-Writer). (2008). Sick around the world. [Television series episode]. In Mangini, T. (Director) Frontline. Arlington, VA: PBS. Available from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view/ Palfreman, J. (Producer and Director) & McMahon, Kate (Co-Producer). (2009). Sick around America [Television series episode]. In Mangini, T. (Director) Frontline. Arlington, VA: PBS. Available from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view/