There are a total of 33 developed countries on earth, and 32 of them have basic healthcare for all their citizens covered. The only country among these developed nations that doesn’t have universal healthcare is the United States of America. This is because, as alluring as universal healthcare sounds, it has its disadvantages. The basic idea behind universal healthcare is that every citizen in the country has access to high levels of healthcare regardless of how much they’re earning.
In less developed countries, only the rich can afford proper healthcare while the less fortunate have to either go without healthcare or save up slowly until they’ve got enough money to pay. Either way, it is a slow, grueling, and testing process for the patient and their loved ones. The United States did have a similar program called Obamacare, but it wasn’t entirely the same thing. One of the most important downsides of universal healthcare is the enormous bill that often comes along with it. Countries have to pay billions in taxes per year just to keep the programs running. Countries need a very stable system to keep universal healthcare in place. With that being said, here are three countries that have universal healthcare and are doing it the right way:
Australia
Australia has a unique system in which the government covers two-thirds of the total healthcare expenses which they locally call ‘Medicare’. The remaining third is covered by the private sector and is also quite popular. Medicare covers pretty much everyone in the country – even people who aren’t there to stay permanently.
The downside to this program is the waiting time that people have to go through before receiving their treatment. On average, people had to wait for four weeks before they can see their doctor which is too long, especially if your condition needs immediate attention. This is the reason why a large chunk of the population still uses private healthcare — so they can receive their healthcare faster. Private healthcare is also said to be of higher quality. However, Medicare is still a huge success given Australia’s high life expectancy which sits around 85 years on average. Lastly, Medicare is affordable for pretty much everyone, too, with only a meager 8% opting out of it since they aren’t willing to shell out cash for it.
Canada
Canada’s healthcare is famous around the world, but it, too, has its problems. While it does a great job of regulating costs and negotiating with big-pharma for drug prescription costs, it doesn’t do too good when it comes to the waiting time for the population. Almost an astonishing half of the total patients have to go over a four-week waiting period before they can see their specialist which is time wasted for patients. For this reason, a large percentage of Canadians who can afford to pay higher go over to the USA to get their treatment since it’s much faster. However, the healthcare system is still working, and Canada has an average life expectancy of 82 years. It also has an exceptionally high number of survivors of cancer, so that’s quite a plus for their healthcare system!
France
France probably has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. It’s designed to be a two-tier system, with patients having a choice between private or public healthcare. The payment for the public healthcare option is covered entirely using taxes, like income and payroll taxes. Other than that, smoking and drinking taxes help fund the healthcare, and the country has found that this is more than enough to keep the ball rolling. Unlike Australia and Canada, the healthcare system in France receives far more positive reviews than negative ones, and it has the life expectancy to show for it – citizens in France can expect to live a long life of 85 years without having to wait over four weeks before they’re able to pay their doctor a visit. While doctors in France are paid less than their counterparts in other countries, they’re compensated with benefits like free education and insurance.
Universal healthcare may have its downsides, but if done right, it can ensure an entire population of healthy and happy citizens with long lives. How’s the healthcare system in your country?