Comparison of U.S. and Other Healthcare System Assignment

Comparison of U.S. and Other Healthcare System - Assignment Example Government provides insurance through Medicare and Medicaid. Private or government covers the cost of healthcare depending on individual plan. Despite provision of insurance by government and private sector, significant numbers of people in the U.S. remain uninsured. Riegelman and Kirkwood (2014, pp. 217-218) point out that close to 15% of the U.S. population do not have insurance. The study further reveals that, 20 million people in the U.S. will remain uninsured. The delivery services provided by the US healthcare system are dominated by private practice with close to 33% primary care physicians and 66% specialist. The healthcare system of other advanced countries such as Canada and the UK are a bit different. The state of Canada spends close to 10% of the gross domestic product, GDP financed by 30% individual private insurance and 70% government taxes. Canadian state provides insurances for critical and basic services. They are also subsidies services for poor individuals. The similarity between the US and Canadian healthcare system is that both are dominated by private practice. However, the Canadian system has a balance primary care physicians and specialist accounting to 50% each unlike the U.S. healthcare system indicated above (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2014, p. 218). Canada healthcare system provides a wide range of insurance; both government and private insurance are accessible to the population. The government funds necessities in healthcare and preventive measures with the assurance that all individuals have access. Additionally, private insurers are not permitted by the government to provide insurance for basic medical services. The Canadian government subsidies insurance medical services such as homecare, long-term care and drugs. Private insurers are also allowed to insure such medical services. Additionally, the state keeps the cost down by negotiating the cost of bulk purchases of medical necessitates such as