Peter Barbera

Comparing Healthcare Systems

9/13/19

Britain vs. the United States

In the United States. We have a mixture of all the different systems, combined into one.
For those that are employed in the United States, the system may feel like the Bismarck model.
This means that citizens of the United States pay insurance every month to get coverage. In the
United States, we have a system of private insurance through employment. The U.S. also has
Medicare and Medicaid supplying older people (65 and up), as well as low income people with
coverage. All of our hospitals in the U.S. are private, with the exception of hospitals ran for
veterans specifically. The U.S. system is actually very expensive in nature, and does not provide
universal coverage to it’s citizens. Many employers are offering skimpy plans to employees,
which can often lead to people not going to the doctor when they need to, or avoiding it all
together. According to Top hat, “Americans are less likely to see a doctor then those in other
countries and prescription drug costs are higher in the United States.” In the U.S. our
government does not control the costs of prescription drugs like other countries do, leading to
very high costs. Even after the Affordable Health Care, which was an attempt to expand
healthcare coverage to all citizens, many people are still left underinsured, and paying a lot of
money while not getting the quality of service that they deserve. Insurance companies have to
except all applicants now, and charge the same rates regardless of someone having a condition
that already exists prior to getting the healthcare.
Great Britain follows the Beveridge Model. A big difference between Britain and the
United States, is the fact that Britain has a system of socialized medicine. Meaning that the
government has a direct say in the negotiation process with companies. Most health care
services don’t cost anything for citizens. Their system is funded through taxes. There is a private
system like the United States, but it runs alongside the public system. Also, a huge difference
between the United States system and Britain’s, is that everyone is covered by insurance in
Britain. Basically, health care gets paid for the same way in which a police man would get paid.
Through tax payments. Another difference between the U.S. and Britain’s system, is that in
Britain costs are low for its citizens, and people also don’t get doctor bills. In the U.S. our
citizens can run up exceptionally hefty doctor bills.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/18/upshot/best-health-care-system-country-
bracket.html

https://app.tophat.com/e/904360/assigned