UK VS. US Health Care Systems

CASE STUDY: UK VS. US Health Care Systems
Author:
Course:
Date:
Access
Studies indicate that the United Kingdom’s health care system spends $155 billion on 50 million people while the United States’ public private health system spends $1.1 trillion on 80 million people (Rothgang et al., 2010). Out of 300 million Americans, an additional $1.1 trillion is spent publicly on the remaining 220 million people (Rothgang et al., 2010). While numbers indicate that the US spends more money on healthcare, 30 million Americans are uninsured while the UK healthcare system provides quality health care for its entire population on a significantly lower expenditure. Therefore, the UK’s health care system offers better access since no one is left out regardless of variables which affect access in the US such as employment status and income level.
Cost
A closer look at the money both governments spends per capita reveals that the UK spends $3,100 per person while the US spends $7,333 per person (Pritchard & Wallace, 2011). However, the amount of money which is spent on private health care is different since the US government spends $13,750 on private health care. This comparison only confirms that the American health care system needed total reform to also address the fact that the US needs to facilitate competition among health care and drug providers. Competition will bring more quality care and drugs while lowering health care costs across the board. The reason health care costs in the UK are so low is because the UK health care system is based on socialist concepts which give majority of the health care system burden on the government and healthcare providers.
Quality
The UK’s socialized health care system provides a lot of incentives for healthcare providers and therefore, they are continuously using the most effective means of treatment to administer health care. The UK’s healthcare provide...