Healthcare System Vs United States

One of the most striking and fascinating differences between The United Kingdom and The United States of America is the dissimilarity in the healthcare system of each nation. The United Kingdom and The United States parallel each other in many ways, yet healthcare is an issue in which these two nations display polar opposite functional beliefs. The difference between The United Kingdom's socialized system and The United States' free market system is indicative of a difference in attitude and trust toward the government in each nation, in which the United States is wary of large centralized institutions due to its revolutionary history of challenging centralized government. This polar difference is symptomatic of a larger cultural theme within

The United States annually spends almost 15 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, while The United Kingdom spends less than 8 percent, yet despite this difference in spending, population health between the two countries are broadly comparable when looking at infant mortality and life expectancy. However, despite the fact that both the American and British public feel a dissatisfaction with their healthcare systems, a higher percentage of the British public feel as though their system works well and doesn't need to be completely rebuilt than in the United States . In the mid 1960's, the US implemented Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs for low income individuals and the elderly. In 2010, Obamacare was the closest the United States has ever come to a system similar to the National Health Service. Currently, a legal mandate requires all Americans to have insurance or pay a penalty, but despite this about 26 million Americans remain without health insurance. A study of the quality of medical care in different countries found that the United States was performing relatively well in comparison to other nations, however after examining the comparative cost of this healthcare and treatment, "it is difficult to conclude that [the American public] is getting good value for its medical dollar." On the other hand, in a five nation

Although the United States is the only developed country in the world which fails to provide its citizens basic universal healthcare, it is unlikely that a change to socialized medicine would be an easy one to implement. The United States of America was founded in order to escape a large centralized government, which created a society that is distrustful of government and clutches dearly to personal freedoms. The American public associates the idea of socialized medicine with centralizing power and taking away personal liberties, and thus becomes associated with tyranny, undertaking a negative connotation. Moreover, American Conservatives would vehemently oppose the increase in taxes such a system would impose upon the American public, and many argue that regulation would decrease the quality of care that the private sector provides. Additionally, on a deeper level, American society functions on the idea of meritocracy, believing that one's hard work will be enough to provide and take care of themselves. Society runs on the idea that nothing is effortlessly handed to anyone, but rather everyone must work hard for everything in life. Health insurance is often a benefit provided, at least in part, by employers which leads to the insinuation that those without health insurance aren't working