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Contrast of UK and US healthcare system , Ref No: 1340

Introduction

Contrast of UK and US healthcare system , The current assignment is related to the detailed discussion regarding the issues of fairness and efficiency in the healthcare systems. The healthcare systems of US and UK have been analyzed in detail to evaluate the effectiveness and fairness of these systems in the UK. Furthermore, the assignment includes the comparison of the healthcare systems of the two countries to evaluate their main elements as well as identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

The efficiency of the health care system refers to whether the resources directed towards the health sector are used appropriately or not. The efficiency in the use of the resources requires appropriate and sound planning through the process of resource allocation needs to be conducted. The concept of fairness has been discussed in light of the extent to which the healthcare system of US and UK has been able to serve the individuals that are residing in both the respective countries.

Efficiency of the health care system

The United States spends a huge amount of its GDP on providing healthcare services to its citizen. The budget of United States is one of the largest when it comes to spending on healthcare activities. The experts and the policymakers of the country are of the opinion that the spending in the healthcare sector of US is expected to rise in the coming years. One of the steps that were taken with the aim of improving the efficiency of the healthcare system of the country is the privatization of the healthcare system.

Another feature of the healthcare system of the United States is that it provides tax-free benefits to the employees who are under the age of 65. Employers are responsible for the selection of the insurance companies and the insurance plan to adopt for this purpose. However, it has been observed that in spite of the heavy spending that has been conducted by the US in their healthcare system, they have not been able to achieve the desired outcomes.

The healthcare system of UK is based on a government controlled body by the name of National Health Service (NHS). The NHS is constructed upon a different range of organizations that are specialized in providing different kinds of services for patients. Altogether, these services look after 1 million patients in every day and a half (GOV.uk, 2015).

In comparison with the healthcare system of US, the healthcare system of UK is considered much better and effective. The reason for that being is the fact that in spite of being the largest spending nation on health care, US is far behind in serving its people effectively as compared to the UK.  Even though having different health services, trials are made to consider the performance of the National Health Service (NHS) across the UK for the reason to make comparisons internationally. Like in 2014, the Commonwealth Fund’s Mirror, that ranks the top eleven number one WHS, place the United Kingdom as the top…