The significance of an operational healthcare system in a country cannot be underestimated. A nation must be able to ensure the availability of a functional healthcare system capable of addressing the needs of its population. As a matter of fact, a caring government is one that heavily invests in the healthcare system to promote healthy standards of living. It is worth noting that despite the fact that the focus of every country is to promote the delivery of quality healthcare, the fact healthcare delivery systems differ from one country to the other.
Therefore, in this study, the author compares the healthcare system of the United States and the Britain on the following fronts. In particular, the study address accessibility of healthcare of the two countries for unemployed, children, and the retired, coverage for medications between the two healthcare systems, and determine the requirements to get a referral in two documented healthcare systems. Additionally, the paper investigates coverage for the preexisting conditions, expounds on two financial implications for patients on healthcare delivery system in the two countries.
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"Comparing US and Britain Healthcare Delivery System".
Despite the fact that both healthcare systems are known to foster the delivery of quality healthcare to their people, the delivery system is different since the United States system boasts of having one of the largest private sector systems while Britain boasts of having one of the largest public sector system. Concerning accessibility to care for children, unemployed people, and the retired, Britain has relatively shorter waiting times both for non-emergency access to care services and basic medical care. Nonetheless, it has relatively longer waiting times for elective non-emergency, and specialists care.
The Britain’s healthcare system is anchored on National Health Service (NHS) model where the government plays an incredible role in fostering the right of every individual to get access to quality healthcare. It is important to note that the whole healthcare system in Britain is rooted in NHS model, which is responsible for the design of all policies and control measures about health services (Reid, 2010). In Britain, health care is free to every citizen, including children, the unemployed, and the retired (Healthcare in the UK (England), 2017). Britain is considered among the few countries in the world offering free health care with few supplementary charges attached. The fact that healthcare in Britain is almost free to all citizens is a clear indication of higher accessibility of healthcare in Britain.
On the other hand, despite the United States being the superpower nation and enjoying economic prowess second to none, it is unfortunate that its healthcare delivery system is extremely costly, and hence can only be accessed by the rich. In comparison with the developed countries like Britain, the United States healthcare system lags behind concerning patient safety, efficiency, coordination, equity, and for the above all, accessibility (Chang, Peysakhovich, Wang, & Zhu). The primary reason why accessibility of healthcare in the United States is extremely low is because of the high cost of healthcare involved.
As a matter of fact, research shows that the United States healthcare system is very expensive and, hence beyond the rich of economically impoverished individuals. This implies that only the rich, those with financial ability can access quality healthcare. Despite the introduction of Obamacare, which was aimed at escalating accessibility to quality care at an affordable cost, research shows that little has changed as far as the cost of healthcare is concerned. The Obamacare was meant to reduce healthcare cost significantly. However, the rising cost of healthcare in the United States is a clear indication that the Obamacare initiative is yet to realize its objective.
In the United States, healthcare is offered entirely by the private sector providers. Hospitals in the United States are either owned by non-profit and charitable organizations or profit companies. A huge number of citizens in the United States are known to get accessibility to health care through Medicare, private health insurance, and the Medicaid programs. Only an insignificant number, mostly the economically disadvantaged (poor and families) are dependent on their financial resources to cater for the required medication (Bolnick, 2002). Therefore, compared to Britain, one can authoritatively conclude that the role played by medication coverage in the United States is huge compared to Britain. In Britain, the government, through NHS is irresponsible for ensuring free accessibility of quality healthcare to every individual irrespective. In this respect, one can argue that the healthcare system in Britain promotes equity compared to the US healthcare delivery system rated as the most expensive globally.
In Britain, accessibility to NHS specialist is conducted through the General practitioner and solely based on need. According to NHS (2017), where one feels that he requires a specialist, he must do so through the general practitioner (GP) he or she is registered. The justification for this is that the entire medical records are with the general practitioner. Besides, the GP have a comprehensive understanding of one’s health, hence will be in a better position to give advice whenever one can see the specialist or not. In the United States, for one to be granted a referral to a specialist, he or she must have a formal written order from his or her primary care doctor. It is the primary doctor to recommend a referral because he has vast information about the patient.
In the United States, based on the present law, health insurance are obliged to cover an individual irrespective of the pre-existing condition. This implies that health insurers are not allowed to deny coverage or charge more because of the pre-existing health condition, such as diabetes except grandfathered individuals (HHS. Gov., 2017). In the same vein, no one in Britain is denied coverage because of the pre-existing condition (NHS, 2016).
The financial burden for health is extremely high making accessibility to quality care a preserve of the rich or the wealthy class. The economically disadvantaged individuals in the United States are unable to access quality healthcare due to the huge cost involved. Contrastingly, in Britain, the government ensures the provision of quality healthcare to every citizen, hence promoting equity in the delivery of care.
