Health care systems around the world compared to NHS

Question 1

Discuss the concept of equity and its various definitions as they apply to health economics and health systems.

Answer 1

Equity is about fairness and justice
Everyone should have an equal opportunity to attain their full potential for health or for the use of health care.

Equity should be distinguished from equality.
Equality is about the equal distribution of shares (of health or health care) so that each individual receives the same amount.

for example associated with one’s area of residency, ethnic group, sex, age, socioeconomic status or disability, might be avoided and so are considered inequitable.

Question 2

How does the NHS compared with other OECD/comparable countries?

Answer 2

Waiting times

Lower number of doctors and nurses per head

Hospital beds per head

Lower survival rates for breast and cervical cancer

Higher health-care amendable mortality

Higher infant mortality?

Question 3

Advantages of the NHS?

Answer 3

Universal coverage

Equitable

Free (at the point of access) ..for most things

Controls costs in line with affordability

Question 4

Describe the criteria that the World Health Organisation (WHO) use to assess the strengths of a healthcare system.

Answer 4

Assessing how well a health system does its job requires dealing with two questions.

How to measure the outcomes of interest?
Determine what is achieved with respect to the three objectives:
Good health
Responsiveness 
Fair financial contribution

How to compare those attainments with what the system should be able to accomplish ?
The best that could be achieved with the same resources – efficiency

Question 5

Describe the main ways in which health care systems around the world are organised and funded

Answer 5

• Universal government funded health system
• Universal public insurance system
• Universal public-private insurance system
• Universal private health insurance system
• Non universal insurance system

Question 6

What is non universal insurance system? Example of country?

Answer 6

Citizens have private health insurance, some are eligible for subsidised public health care, while some are not insured at all:

Notable example:
United States.

Question 7

What is universal private health insurance system? Example of a country?

Answer 7

People receive healthcare via mandatory private insurance, usually subsidised by the government for low-income citizens:

Examples:
Israel, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Switzerland

Question 8

What is Universal public-private insurance system? Example of country?

Answer 8

People receive healthcare via primary private insurance, and from the Government if they are not eligible for it.

Examples:
Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Cyprus, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Turkey.

Question 9

What is Universal public insurance system? Example of country?

Answer 9

Workers have social insurance with both employer and employee contributions.

People who are not employed and/or can’t register as unemployed may be ineligible for free health care.

Examples:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Dubai.

Question 10

What is Universal, government-funded health system? Example of country?

Answer 10

Government-funded healthcare is available to almost all citizens.

 Examples:  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland,  Ireland, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom

Question 11

How is healthcare funded?

Answer 11

Taxation

Social insurance contributions

Private health insurance

Direct out of pocket payments and user charges

Ultimately, Mixture of these methods.
Each method distributes the costs differently .
Affects who will have access to health care