Health Care Policies and Regulations Compared According to Jun, Osborn, and Squires of the Commonwealth Fund, in their International Profiles of Health Care Systems (2012), the role of the government in the Norwegian health care system is that the government is fully responsible for funding and controlling the health care system (para. 1). However, if citizens want to opt out of the government-controlled health insurance and purchase private insurance, they are able to do that, as well. This is sometimes the choice of some people when waiting lists are long and they choose to go to another country for treatment (Shafrin, para. 4). I have also heard from relatives that this is sometimes the case in Canada, as well, where there is also truly “universal” health care. However, the role of the government in health care in the United States is ever evolving and ever changing. Before the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 the role of the government was mostly regulatory, with the exceptions of Medicare and Medicaid and certain other special programs for people who needed financial assistance to access health care. That role is ever evolving now, though. Who is covered in these two countries? In Norway, the answer is simple: Everyone. 100% of the citizens are covered (Jun, Osborn, Squires, 2012, p. 86). In the United States, it is not as clear of a picture. According to Jun, Osborn, & Squires (2012), “In 2010, 56 percent of U.S. residents received primary care coverage from private voluntary health insurance (VHI), with 51 percent receiving it through their employers and 5 percent acquiring coverage directly. Public programs covered 27 percent of residents: 14 percent under Medicare, 12 percent under Medicaid, and 1 percent under military health care programs. Almost 50 million residents (16% of the population) were uninsured. Among those who are insured,