Introduction
While medical advancements around the world become increasingly accessible to every individual, disparities persist, remaining prominent even in high-income countries. This paper will analyze the structure and implications of the healthcare systems in the United States and the United Kingdom. The comparison of these social institutions in the US and England highlights critical differences in the quality, accessibility, and cost of care, indicating which factors better support public well-being.
Healthcare Access for Children
Both countries support children through a complex set of programs and policies that ensure their access to necessary health services. In the US, only 4.1% of children lack insurance coverage, and this percentage has decreased in recent years, although racial disparities persist in this area (The National Institute for Health Care Management, 2023).
A family’s socioeconomic status also impacts this figure adversely due to financial difficulties. Children in England experience a worse situation, especially in migrant communities, as their health is worse than in other European countries due to the National Health Service’s (NHS) incohesive support structures (Maile & Hargreaves, 2020). Despite the country’s universal healthcare, addressing the needs of youth remains challenging for existing institutions.
Medication Coverage
Payments for medications tend to be involuntary and cause a disparity in treatment outcomes. In the US, medical insurance only partially covers drugs, often requiring out-of-pocket payments for treatments with prices exceeding one’s coverage limits (Getzen, 2022). This notion creates an adverse situation for a portion of the population. In turn, most drugs prescribed by English physicians are free since they are funded by the NHS, although there are exceptions for cases where medication is outside of guidelines (Castle et al., 2022). Thus, people may receive standard drugs while expecting reimbursement.
Referral Requirements
Professional medical help is highly sought after and may be scarce, leading to the creation of referral systems that prevent unnecessary access to such services. In the US, physicians utilize private and public referral networks to direct patients to specialists (Getzen, 2022). General practitioners in England have a pre-set list of possible options. The NHS sets a direction for people to access specific doctors, which requires a physician to thoroughly assess one’s health status (The National Health Service, 2023). This approach may stifle one’s access to necessary help if there are long queues due to the lack of options.
Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions
Pre-existing conditions may cause additional reviews of one’s eligibility for health insurance. In England, individuals can expect full or partial coverage, depending on their associated risks (Albano, 2023). In the US, policies may alleviate a significant portion of the issues faced by such patients. Insurance providers in this country are prohibited from overcharging clients due to their health complications. However, there is an exception for contracts signed before March 2010 (The US Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). This notion helps the population to manage the high costs of treatment.
Financial Implications
The most apparent difference between these two healthcare systems is patient expenditure. The expenditures in the US for an individual may be so severe that they will have to limit their choices, while England covers the majority of such costs (Castle et al., 2022; Getzen, 2022). Moreover, the second implication that highlights the dissimilarities between these systems is health insurance. A patient in the US must carefully select an insurance provider, which may impact their employment decisions, whereas English citizens enjoy universal coverage (Castle et al., 2022). These approaches lead to vastly varying outcomes, causing disparities among the countries’ populations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, healthcare systems in the US and England differ significantly, as the latter provides greater coverage for its citizens while requiring less out-of-pocket expenditures. While children and people with pre-existing conditions are prioritized by health policies in both countries, the US supports them better due to a more lenient structure. However, patients in the US, in general, are expected to spend more on their health than those in England, despite having more options.
References
Albano, J. (2023). Health insurance with pre-existing conditions. Equity Health.
Castle, G., Kelly, B., & Gathani, R. (2022). Pricing & reimbursement laws and regulations | United Kingdom. Global Legal Insights.
Getzen, T. E. (2022). Money and medicine: The evolution of national health expenditures. Oxford University Press.
Maile, E. J., & Hargreaves, D. S. (2020). The UK’s global standing in child and young people’s health and how GPs can help. British Journal of General Practice, 70(693), 156-157.
The National Health Service. (2023). Referrals for specialist care.
The National Institute for Health Care Management. (2023). The state of children’s health in the United States.
The US Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Can I get coverage if I Have a pre-existing condition?