How do you think the U.S. compares to other first world countries?
I think, as mentioned above, that the U.K. is among those rare countries that have only minor problems with the healthcare system. Quality and cost do sometimes become issues, but access is never a problem and often times the latter issues will be resolved as well. Thus, if one looks at it this way, the public system seems to work here. Yet the English system in particular has received much criticism. This relates to the financial problems that the country is facing in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. Yet the country's ministers have assured that they "will not make the sick pay for Labour's debt crisis […] and ministers could not 'sit back' and put more taxpayers' money into an unreformed system" (Mulholland, 1). The fact that the country calls for reform is, thus, a sign of concern.
system is much better set up than the U.S. system, for instance, where an individual without employment, for instance, must pay out of his or her own pocket for healthcare. This becomes a problem because many today, especially the youth population, are in this situation. And, as many of us have seen throughout these past few months, these individuals will manifest their frustration through protests, leading to public unrest and disorder. Thus, in a ranking of the best healthcare system in the developed world, the U.S. would surely rank towards the bottom.
Works Cited:
Mulholland, H. (2010). Health Secretary Defends NHS Reforms as Criticism Grows. The Guardian. Retrieved January 9, 2012, from .
No Author. (2012). NHS Choices: Your Health, Your Choices. NHS.uk. Retrieved January 9, 2012, from .
