Introduction
Governments across the world have devised healthcare systems meant to promote the health of their citizens and ensure meaningful economic development through a healthy population. While the systems are not the same, there are common denominators that most healthcare planners follow given that human life is the same across the world. There are different loose frameworks or models within which healthcare systems operate. They include the Bismarck model, the Beveridge model, the Medicare model, and the Out of Pocket model.
Bismarck
The Bismarck model has its roots in the development of the welfare state. The model incorporates the use of an insurance system that draws its financing from both government and private citizens through payroll deductions. The only similarity that it has with the fragmented US system is the use of insurers. However, unlike the American system, the Bismarck model ensures that everybody is insured and hospitals and doctors don’t make profits. Another important feature of the system is the close government involvement that ensures close oversight of the entire system. This model is almost similar to the American model, especially, where working people get insurance on the job.
Beveridge
The main feature of this healthcare model is the fact that it is entirely funded by the government through tax payments, the same way other public services like the police or the military are. The health institutions i.e. hospitals and clinics are owned by the government and most employees are hired and remunerated by the government. There may be private practitioners in these facilities but they all collect their fees from the government. This plan is common in most socialist countries as well as Britain and other Scandinavian countries. This model is however quite different from the US healthcare system where there is less government control with private companies running a larger chunk of the healthcare system.
Medicare-Canadian model
The Medicare system applies to both the US and Canada. In Canada, the system is publicly funded and all legal residents receive health services without payment. The majority of physician and dental services offered in hospitals or by practitioners are paid for by the government because the government considers them necessary services. This system is similar to the one in the US with the American model only benefiting people over the age of 65 and younger people with disabilities.
Out of Pocket
The out-of-pocket system is the least differentiated of these models. The above three models present an organized system where residents of particular countries access medical care mainly funded by the state or provided for by insurance companies with significant help from the state. However, most of the countries on the planet don’t have comprehensive healthcare systems and access to medical services is only available to the people who can afford it. People belonging to the lower classes of the population only see a doctor when they can afford and they pay using money out of their pocket.
Concisely, this system is present mainly in developing countries where comprehensive healthcare systems are lacking. This situation is comparable to the US system where over 20% of the population does not have access to meaningful access to healthcare hence they have to rely on their means to acquire the services.
Conclusion
An important observation from the above information is that while various countries have adopted a single model for their population, the U.S. has different models that suit the different classes of people. Hence, it is difficult to proclaim that a certain medical system model is unique to the US.