Do an online search for information about a health care plan from a country that offers a national health plan or socialized medicine.
1. In your first post: Describe the plan you selected and the associated country. Does this plan provide for equal and fair distribution of resources (social justice) or is there a disparate population that remains under served? How would you compare this plan to the Affordable Care Act in the United States?
2. Your second and third posts should be responses to classmates critiquing the health plans they have chosen. Explain why the one you chose or the ACA is better than your classmates’ chosen plans. (Respond to at least 2 Students)Your initial post should be substantive and address the questions asked.
Provide the complete URL of any webpage where you found information (e.g. https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/individual/)Student 1:Hey everyone,
I chose to look into Sweden’s national healthcare plan. Sweden’s health care system is nationally regulated and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs determines the health care policies. Funding for Sweden’s health care plan comes from regional and municipal taxes. Everyone is automatically enrolled and is covered for services such as inpatient, outpatient, dental, mental health, long-term care and prescriptions.
Different regions set the fees and co-pay amounts. From this website, it seems as if the healthcare is distributed evenly. All Swedish citizens are enrolled and are all covered for the same things. Depending on the region, the co-pay and fees might vary, but everyone seems to be covered the the same thing nationwide. The primary goal of the ACA is to make health insurance more affordable.
The ACA is income based because it aims to provide tax credits that lower the cost of healthcare for households with an income level between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. You can still qualify if you are above, but that is probably rare and hard to do. While Sweden automatically covers all of it’s citizens, the ACA is aiming to cover people below the poverty line. In Sweeden, medical school is free, but they only admit a certain amount of people a year.
This is why healthcare can stay low, because providers have no medical school debt and are not seeking jobs solely based on income. I think universal healthcare in the U.S will be almost impossible because providers would not be making that much and there would be a drop in people wanting to even be providers.
Providers also have the option to choose which insurances they will accept, so if there is a universal health care program, it does not mean that you will have the options to see every single physician you would like or need to. There is a lot that goes into universal healthcare, as we can see from Sweeden’s plan. Sam(https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/sweden)(https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/)Student 2:Hello Class,
The plan I selected was Canada’s universal health-care system. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may apply for public health insurance. The universal health-care system is paid for through taxes. Each province and territory have their own healthcare insurance plan. All provinces and territories will provide free emergency medical services, even if you do not have a government health care, BUT a walk-in clinic might charge fees if you do not live in that province or territory. In some provinces you may have a waiting period to get public health insurance. Government health insurance plans give you access to basic medical services, you may also need private insurance to pay for things that it does not fully cover (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/new-life-canada/health-care-card.html).
This plan provides for equal and fair distribution of resources (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-system/canada.html).In Canada, healthcare coverage stays with you for your entire life, and you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals. Under the ACA (Affordable Care Act) in the United States health care coverage stays with you for as long as you can afford your share
Canada’s single payer system is mostly publicly funded, while the U.S/ has a multi-payer, heavily private system. In Canada certain medical expenses are not covered, like dental, vision, prescription, and chiropractic. This is where a private supplement health insurance is needed. The ACA offers different plans for different premiums.
Requirements: 500-600 Words Total, including responses to 2 students.
