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Healthcare is one of the most important pillars of society, which explains why many countries invest a sizeable portion of their GDP to ensure it is available both in quality and cost. The two best countries about the quality of care include Switzerland and the U.K. Switzerland is one of the nations known to have the best healthcare with regards to quality. The administrative costs range at about 5% of the entire cost of healthcare in the U.K. In the U.K., nearly all physicians are employees of the NHS, which is the National Health Service. Five billion of the entire expenditure and the money also comes from tax as is the case with the U.S. and the U.K. Out-of-pocket expenses in Swiss healthcare account for 65% of all expenses while in the U.K. it is about 42%.
International Health Care Systems
Healthcare is one of the most important pillars of society, which explains why many countries invest a sizeable portion of their GDP to ensure it is available both in quality and cost. The US spends the most on healthcare. Statistically, the US spent 17.8% of its GDP on healthcare in 2016 alone while the closest country, Switzerland, spent 12.4% (Rapaport, 2018). Despite the huge expenses, however, the US has repeatedly been criticized for being so expensive, but the quality of healthcare continues to lag behind many Western countries that spend much less in comparison. The two best countries about the quality of care include Switzerland and the U.K. A comparison of these countries shows how the US can improve its system for the better.
Switzerland is one of the nations known to have the best healthcare quality. Switzerland spends about 12.2% of its GDP on healthcare. Specifically, in 2016, the country spent CHF 80.5 billion, which was about a 2% increase when compared to 2015 (Swiss spend the most on healthcare, 2018). Most of the expenses come from private entities accounting for about 65% while the rest comes from taxes and companies. This points to why the country has come under criticism as it is one of the highest-ranking out-of-pocket spending. Administrative expenditures for Switzerland account for approximately 3.8% of the total healthcare expenditures. In comparison, the UK spent about £191.7 in 2016 on healthcare which, like Switzerland, represents an increase of 3.6%. About the GDP, the total expenditure is 9.8%, which is higher than the OECD median (How does UK healthcare spending compare with other countries? 2019). The administrative costs range at about 5% of the entire cost of healthcare in the UK. When comparing the two to the US, it is clear that American healthcare is pulled down by administrative expenditures. This is because its administrative expenditures go as high as 25% of the entire spending (Himmelstein, 2014). In the UK, nearly all physicians are employees of the NHS, which is the National Health Service. In Switzerland, however, the doctors are paid by individual healthcare institutions.
As earlier mentioned, healthcare in Switzerland is mainly paid for by private entities while the UK government pays for most of it. Unlike Switzerland, however, government spending accounts for the most contribution to healthcare at 79.4% of all spending, which translates to £152.2 billion (Healthcare expenditure, UK Health Accounts, 2018). The money is generated through taxation. Swiss government accounts for CHF 80.5 billion of the entire expenditure and the money also comes from tax as is the case with the US and the UK. The insurance providers in both countries also help with the contribution with UK insurance accounting for about 10.5% of the entire expenses while the Swiss insurance pays about 8%. Out-of-pocket expenses in Swiss healthcare account for 65% of all expenses while in the UK is about 42% (LE News, 2018).
In the UK, private insurance is available to those who wish to have it and covers a wide range of services including maternity care, emergency care, general practice, and mental health. Four insurers dominate the UK healthcare market with smaller ones making up the rest. In Switzerland, on the other hand, private health insurance is compulsory and there are no free state-provided healthcare services (Healthcare in Switzerland, 2019). The insurance covers the cost of medical treatment and hospitalization. It pays for many services including maternity costs. The insured, however, is required to account for part of the treatment cost. It should, however, be noted that the government assists the people in paying some of the costs through subsidies if the cost is high. There are extended waits in some UK emergency wards. While there can be extended waits in Switzerland, they are fairly uncommon.
Even though healthcare might be expensive in Switzerland, the outcomes are undeniable. Regarding life expectancy, the WHO says that Swiss men have the longest life expectancy at 81.3 years in the world. Women raked 6th in the world with an expectancy of 85.3 years (Life expectancy: Swiss set to live longer and prosper, 2019). Infant mortality rates have also fallen in Switzerland at 3.7 deaths per 1,000 live births which is considerably lower than in many countries. In the UK, life expectancy is low at 63.1 years for men and 63.3 years for women. Infant mortality rates are estimated at 4 per 1,000 live births as of 2017 (Infant and neonatal mortality, 2019). In comparison to the US, the infant mortality rate is at 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. The life expectancy is at 76.1 years for men and women (Bernstein, 2018). UK citizens have a 57% satisfaction rate with the quality of healthcare. The old portion of the population showed more satisfaction with quality. In Switzerland, about 81% of the population is satisfied with the quality of care that they get (Wurz, 2016). The trend has been on the rise.
References
- Bernstein, L. (2018). U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-life-expectancy-declines-again-a-dismal-trend-not-seen-since-world-war-i/2018/11/28/ae58bc8c-f28c-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html
- Healthcare expenditure, UK Health Accounts. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/bulletins/ukhealthaccounts/2017
- Healthcare in Switzerland. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.allianzcare.com/en/support/health-and-wellness/national-healthcare-systems/healthcare-in-switzerland.html
- Himmelstein, D. (2014). A Comparison of Hospital Administrative Costs in Eight Nations: U.S. Costs Exceed All Others by Far. Retrieved from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/journal-article/2014/sep/comparison-hospital-administrative-costs-eight-nations-us
- How does UK healthcare spending compare with other countries? (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/articles/howdoesukhealthcarespendingcomparewithothercountries/2019-08-29
- Infant and neonatal mortality. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/infant-and-neonatal-mortality
- LE News. (2018). The cost of Swiss health is the second highest in the world and rising. Retrieved from https://lenews.ch/2018/10/18/cost-of-swiss-healthcare-second-highest-in-the-world-and-rising/
- Life expectancy: Switzerland is set to live longer and prosper. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.thelocal.ch/20190425/life-expectancy-swiss-set-to-live-longer-and-prosper-health-ageing
- Rapaport, L. (2018). U.S. health spending is twice other countries with worse results. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-spending/u-s-health-spending-twice-other-countries-with-worse-results-idUSKCN1GP2YN
- [bookmark: _Hlk25536772]Swiss spends the most on healthcare. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/health-insurance-_swiss-spend-the-most-on-health-care—/44359710
- Wurz, J. (2016). Swiss are happy with their health more or less. Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/health-monitor-2016_swiss-are-happy-with-their-health-more-or-less/42249778
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