Maria Hernandez
Ms. Lily
Healthcare System History
The aim of the essay is to compare heath care systems in different countries and find out whether the dominance of public or private spending is optimal for the society; here the comparison between UK and USA health care system will be appropriate. Question #2 In the USA nowadays the Private Health Insurance system is the major provider of health care services. Is this situation adequate to the demands of the tax payers and is it effective for different categories of people who need medical treatment? Should the ratio between private and public sectors in health care be changed and should the organization of both systems be reformed? Let us first of all define what is health. These can be two ways to define it: 1) Negative: the absence of disease 2) Positive: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.” (World Health Organization, 1946)
Therefore we can outline two aims of health policy: to improve health and to reduce health inequalities. In terms of the first definition, the US health care system is efficient. In terms of the world-accepted definition, the second one, the US health care system is expensive and in many cases not efficient. Let us analyze the relation between costs and effectiveness in this system. First of all let us trace the development and progress of both health care systems. The basis for current health care system was established after the World war II, when private doctors were serving most of the market.
The traditional perception of health care as one of the paid services was and is still remaining the leading one. But it doesn’t give the poor, elderly and disabled people, who most often need the medical treatment, the possibility to receive this treatment. In 1965, however, the Congress introduced Medicare and Medicaid programs, which were tax-funded and offered