International Healthcare

Introduction and Alignment

Countries vary in their healthcare systems. Comparing them may provide insights into potential healthcare system improvements for the United States.

National health systems appear to reduce health spending. However, one must impute time costs and adjust for differences in quality of care when evaluating the full costs of alternative systems.

Health insurance through the workplace comes at a cost. At the national level, the fundamentally inelastic labor supply suggests that most of the costs of health insurance fall upon workers in the form of lower wages. If a goods manufacturer has some monopoly power, some of the costs of employer-provided health insurance may be passed on to consumers.

The imposition of universal health coverage also comes at a cost, of resources that could be used for something else. Whether the cost is "worth it" often constitutes more of a political question than an economic one.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

• Compare and contrast the healthcare economic structure of the United States and other countries.
• Analyze how the level of spending for each country correlates to the desired health outcomes.

Resources

• Textbook: The Economics of Health and Healthcare

Background Information

As a healthcare administrator, it is important to understand the healthcare system of other countries. When considering the large-scale health coverage provided by other countries, it is important to note that many of those systems have been in existence for a long time and are part of the accepted culture of the country. Coverage provided in the United States has serious gaps that are not present in other industrialized countries. Understanding other healthcare systems will allow you to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of the healthcare system in the United States.

Instructions

1. In your textbook The Economics of Health and Healthcare, read:
2. Chapter 21, "Social Insurance" (pages 435-437; pages 439-464)
3. Chapter 23, "Health Care Reform" (pages 492-505)
4. Research and select a country other than the United States. Post your selected country to the discussion board by the end of the second day of the workshop. Each student must select a country that has not already been selected by someone else in the class.
5. Compare and contrast the healthcare expenditures of your selected country to the United States.
6. In what ways do healthcare expenditures in the United States differ from that of the other country?
7. Does the level of spending by each country correlate with the desired health outcomes? Explain.
8. Compare the economic structure of the U.S. healthcare system to the other country you have selected. What type of economic structure does each country have? There are the four main types:
9. Out-of-pocket payer system
10. Healthcare that is provided and financed by the government through tax payments, just like the police force or the public library
11. National healthcare system that uses private-sector providers, but payment comes from a government-run insurance program that every citizen pays into
12. Insurance with "sickness funds," usually financed jointly by employers and employees through payroll deduction
13. Navigate to the threaded discussion below by the end of the fourth day of the workshop and post a response to the main discussion board summarizing your comparison (items 3 and 4 above).
14. Read and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings, as well as all follow-up instructor questions directed to you, by the end of the workshop.
15. Your postings should also:
16. Be well developed by providing clear answers with evidence of critical thinking.
17. Add a greater depth to the discussion by introducing new ideas.
18. Provide clarification to classmates' questions and provide insight into the discussion.
19. Be supported with at least two references:
20. One reference should be a peer-reviewed journal article. The other reference may be from your textbook.
21. Be sure to cite the textbook chapter and not the entire textbook in your APA formatted reference.