Comparing the U. S. Health System with those of England and France

The U. S. Healthcare System

The U. S. prides itself on being the lead country in the entire world.  There is nothing Americans cannot do, except for building a healthcare system to protect all its people.  The existing system in the U. S. is a market-based system.  Currently, there are about 32 million citizens who do not have healthcare coverage despite the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare (National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), n. d.).  With the ACA, 30 million people with preexisting health conditions got healthcare.  

The new administration wants to take away the ACA and make it more difficult for people to get healthcare again.  President Trump promised to replace the ACA with something better, and the legislation put forward was not better but much worse for Americans.  It was difficult getting the ACA passed by Congress, but it finally passed into law in 2010.  The U. S. could take a look at other countries that have universal health care to improve healthcare in the U. S.  The healthcare system of France is a good one to look at for an example of one that is working well. Currently, France has the number one healthcare system in the world.  The U. S. rates at the bottom and is in violation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines.  The U. S. is a member nation, so it should comply with the rules.  NESRI (n. d.) reports that at least 100,000 people die each year due to the lack of healthcare.  These deaths could be avoided. Moreover, the U. S. has a high rate of infant mortality, it has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world, and women are discriminated against by not giving them access to adequate healthcare.  The U. S. was once a world leader, but now it is not.  Giving people healthcare would raise its status among the world as well as improve the overall health of Americans.

France’s Healthcare System

The healthcare system in France is ranked number one in the world by WHO.  The country gives its citizens universal healthcare in a public-private mix.  While the French system is not perfect, surveys show that patients are highly satisfied with their healthcare services.  Moreover, even though the system is universal, France spends much less than the U. S. on healthcare.  The system is like Medicare for all.  The healthcare system provides all types of services, dental care, and vision care.  There are no deductibles to be met, but a patient will pay a nominal fee to see a doctor.  And a patient in France has great latitude in choosing doctors (Rodwin, 2003).  France’s healthcare system is part of its social security system.  It is funded by taxes and social contributions.  The country has the “lowest infant mortality rate,” fewer people who are obese and have longer than normal life expectancy (The Marwood Group, 2015).

England’s Healthcare System

England offers its citizens national healthcare.  The citizens pay for universal care through their taxes.  The taxes are collected by the government and then given over to the healthcare system to be allocated accordingly.  The level of healthcare depends on a budget dictated by the money the government collects (National Health Service (NHS), 2013).  Universal healthcare is provided but it is not the same services for different economic areas in England (Goshen, n. d.).  The healthcare system does better when serving those general medical conditions and worse at providing elders with care.  In fact, an article appearing in the British Medical Journal in 2008 said “overall, only 62% of the care recommended for older adults is actually received” (British Medical Journal, 2008).  The infant mortality rate was a little over 2,500 infants in 2014 (Office of National Statistics, n. d.).  People who need to see specialists or have operations are put on a waiting list and some wait for over a year.  The obesity rate has also risen.  Their life expectancy is lower than that of France’s, at 83 years for women (NHS Confederation, 2016). 

Conclusion

In looking at statistics for healthcare systems in the U. S., France, and England, it seems that France’s system excels.  However, even though England has universal healthcare the system is not meeting the needs of its patients.  Worse yet, the U. S. ranks highest in the world when it comes to things like infant mortality rate.  It is an industrialized nation with lots of money, but it has figures of infant mortality that matches a third world nation’s rates.  WHO says the U. S. is violating basic human rights by not providing healthcare for its citizens.  Americans have always been rebelling but in this case, they should go with the rest of the western countries and provide universal healthcare for its citizens.

References

Childhood mortality in England and Wales for 2014.  (n. d.).  Office for National Statistics. 

English health-care system failing to provide basic care, shows major survey.  (2008).  BMJ-British Medical Journal in Science Daily.

Goshen, M.  (n. d.).  England’s healthcare system.  TRCB.com.  Retrieved from http://www.trcb.com/health-and-fitness/healthcare-systems/englands-health-care-system-

Guide to the healthcare system in England:  Including a statement of NHS accountability. (2013).  NHS.  Retrieved from 

Healthcare in the United States.  (n. d.).  NESRI.  Retrieved from https://www.nesri.org/programs/health-care-in-the-united-states  

Key statistics on the NHS.  (2016).  NHS Confederacy.  Retrieved from http://www.nhsconfed.org/resources/key-statistics-on-the-nhs 

Marwood group fact sheet:  French healthcare.  (2015).  The Marwood Group.  Retrieved from http://www.marwoodgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/10-16-2015-

Rodwin, V. G.  (2003).  The health care system under French national health insurance:  Lessons for health care in the United States.  American Journal of Public Health, 93(1), 31-37.