8 week chad sys: support the argument
Hello everyone,
The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other comparable countries. Currently the US spends about 18% of the GDP on health, compared with similar countries that average around 12% (Fuchs, 2018). Even with us spending more on healthcare in the US the outcomes are not any better. In fact, many other similar countries that spend less on healthcare actually have better outcomes on certain things (Fuchs, 2018).
The US has a single payer program (Medicare), and private insurance. Canada has a single payer system. When compared to Canada the US has a lot of differences when it comes to healthcare coverage and healthcare outcomes. Canada spends about 10% GDP on healthcare, which is not too much more than half of what is spent in the US. The life expectancy in Canada is about 82 years old with a cost of $4,500 a person compared with the US at 78 years and $8,500 per person (Fagnan & Legare, 2017). Canada also has a lot of statistics that are better such as infant mortality per 1,000 (Canada 4.8, US 6.1), obesity rates (Canada 25.8%, US 35.3%), and population over 65 years with two or more chronic conditions (Canada 56%, US 68%).
Mortality rates for the US and similar countries have been on a steady decline over the past few decades, but the US remains higher (Sawyer & McDermott, 2019). As of 2015 data the US ranks highest in mortality at 837 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with the comparable average of 724 (Sawyer & McDermott, 2019).
Social justice in healthcare differs in both the US and Canada. The US has many healthcare disparities throughout the country and different communities. I feel this is a direct result of the current payer systems that we have and the areas that they are lacking in. Canada also has some injustices being that their single-payer system isn’t perfect either and has room for improvement. A couple of injustices that Canada’s model encounters is there can be long wait times in certain locations due to lack of enough resources for that community (Flood & Rock, 2017). Also Canada’s system is completely federal tax funded which alone could make the entire system vulnerable to economic changes (Flood & Rock, 2017).
References
Fagnan, L. J. & Legare, F. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.cdnetwork.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/07/Comparing-and-Contrasting-the-US-and-Canadian-Healthcare_6_pptx.pdf
Flood, C. M. & Rock, A. (2017). Commentary: Five lessons from Canada on single-payer
health care. Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/
ct-perspec-health-0924-story.html
Fuchs, V. R. (2018). Is Single Payer the Answer for the US Health Care System? JAMA: Journal
of the American Medical Association, 319(1), 15–16. https://doi-org.prx-
keiser.lirn.net/10.1001/jama.2017.18739
Sawyer, B. & McDermott. (2019). How do mortality rates in the U.S. compare to other
countries? Retrieved from https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-
collection/mortality-rates-u-s-compare-countries/#item-start
