The U.S. outperforms Canada in terms of real GDP growth and government expenditure on health (OECD, 2020a). Regarding ICT, Canada has a higher proportion of households with access to computers (OECD, 2020a; OECD, 2020b). Canada has a higher life expectancy at birth and a lower prevalence of obesity (OECD, 2020a; OECD, 2020b). Considering that the U.S. is recognized as the largest economy, the information covering access to IT is actually surprising. It is doubtful that the statistics will be similar in ten years since the U.S. has been unstable in terms of GDP growth, and the long-term consequences of current protests are difficult to predict.
Allowing some people to purchase additional insurance is an acceptable approach to care organization, but its potential effects on care quality are still to be studied. Some pros of this initiative include the opportunity to deliver services to more patients and make private healthcare an option for those who can afford it (Qian & Zhuang, 2017). Regarding the disadvantages, private insurance does not necessarily guarantee better care quality.
In the discussed countries, equity and fairness refer to the ability to make high-quality care available to all ethnic and demographic groups. These principles are considered important since they reduce the opportunity to discriminate against patients with certain characteristics. The types of barriers to healthcare include:
- Financial (inability to fund one’s prescriptions);
- Cultural (language barriers, religious beliefs about blood transfusions/abortions);
- Provider scarcity (current trend – shortage of physicians) (Kirch & Petelle, 2017);
- Barriers to access healthcare and healthcare resources (lack of diagnostic equipment and poor oral health outcomes in rural areas) (Boynes et al., 2018).
I agree with the statement regarding government-funded healthcare and capitalist economy and values. Government-funded healthcare creates more opportunities for the most disadvantaged groups instead of severely limiting others’ freedom.
References
Boynes, S. G., Heyward, C. C., Kenney, C., Lauer-Kelly, A., Nelson, J., Ohrenberger, K., Veschusio, C., Diep, V, & Martin, A. B. (2018). Narrowing the rural oral healthcare gap: The 2017 rural interprofessional oral health practice symposium. BMC Oral Health, 18, 1-7. Web.
Kirch, D. G., & Petelle, K. (2017). Addressing the physician shortage: The peril of ignoring demography. JAMA, 317(19), 1947-1948. Web.
OECD. (2020a).Country statistical profile: Canada 2020/1. Web.
OECD. (2020b). Country statistical profile: United States 2020/1. Web.
Qian, Q., & Zhuang, W. (2017). Tax/subsidy and capacity decisions in a two-tier health system with welfare redistributive objective. European Journal of Operational Research, 260(1), 140-151. Web.