Comparative Analysis of Nations' Health Care Funding Systems
Open Access
- Author:
- Kantner, Samuel Wilkens
- Area of Honors:
- Risk Management
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Richard Lee London, Thesis Supervisor
Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- actuarial science
health insurance
health care
health reform
PPACA
social insurance - Abstract:
- The United States faces the growing issue of having the most expensive health care system, as well as arguably the worst quality of care for the non-wealthy, in comparison to all other industrialized nations. Moreover, the United States has left many (up to 50 million before reforms, according to 2010 U.S. Census Health Insurance Coverage statistics) without health insurance, while most other industrialized countries cover nearly all citizens. To combat these issues, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in March 2010. The purpose of PPACA is to help minimize the number of uninsured Americans, improve the quality of care, and reduce costs in the country’s health care system. Nearly all other industrialized nations fund their health care systems through either state, federal, or payroll taxes in order to ensure coverage for nearly all citizens, a clear difference from the U.S. This report analyzes the changes the U.S. has made to its health care system in recent years due to PPACA and compares it to health care systems of other industrialized nations and reforms they have made in recent years. The goal of the study is to recommend potential improvements to the U.S. health care system based on an analysis of the funding models of other industrialized countries. The report concludes by considering the political climate in the country and its effect on health policy reform.