Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages of Health Care Approaches in Two or More Countries at Different Stages of Development
The USA is a developed country that has a pluralistic healthcare approach, meaning that the health care system is privately owned and is viewed as a consumer product. The consumer pays for outpatient treatment, doctor fees, hospitalisation and surgery.
One advantage of this healthcare approach is that $7000 is spent per head making the healthcare is of high quality. However this expense is unsustainable and leads to affordability issues. In America 12%-16% of the population cannot afford the basic medical treatment they require due to this expense. Many are unable to buy the vital drugs needed to live day to day life and consequently live a poor quality of life due morbidity.
One major disadvantage of the healthcare system in America is that it’s not readily accessible to the whole population. 29 million people in America have no health insurance and only ¼ of the total population receive complete insurance. Many struggle to get basic health insurance to cover the costs of treatment, this may be due to any pre-existing health conditions or in some cases, for example’ a high BMI can lead to no health insurance cover. These health insurance companies can also refuse to cover the cost of treatment if it’s too expensive.
In contrast the health care approach in Cuba – a developing country – is socialistic. This means health care is state provided and a public service facilities are publically owned and payment for services is indirect.
This health care approach is better than the pluralistic approach to health care in America as all facilities are publically owned. In Cuba free healthcare is provided universally and $250 is spent per head meaning that the healthcare is of reasonably good quality but much more sustainable than the USA.
One advantage of this healthcare approach is that it’s widely accessible to all that need it. A scheme called ‘a doctor on every block’ ensures that the whole population are able