Germany
Germany’s healthcare system is based primarily on government-regulated, employment-based private insurance (still providing universal healthcare coverage). Representatives of health providers, hospitals, sickness funds, unions, and the government constitute Concerted Action, a special body created first by the 1977 German Cost Containment Act (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2016, p. 172). The representatives meet twice a year so that in the spring, they can set costs and guidelines for physician fees, hospital rates, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals. These regulations resulted in the drop of the expenditures allocated to healthcare in the gross domestic product (GDP), but then the costs (percentage) started to increase (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2016, p. 172). Germany still tries to find new solutions to rising healthcare expenses.
Canada
Canada uses both federal and provincial tax revenues to fund the public, single-payer universal healthcare system. Its cost allocation is much more practical than that of the United States primarily because of administrative costs, physician fees, pharmaceutical prices, and the cost of inpatient care that are much lower. However, in 2010, the Canadian government was pressured to make some changes regarding healthcare standards in the country as more citizens started to question the quality of care (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2016, p. 175). Instead of allowing greater private investments, the officials decided to increase federal funding for provincial insurance plans as well as improve the efficiency by reorganizing primary care and other services.
The United Kingdom
British medicine is characterized by its economy as physicians are often more considerate of the procedures they order, the medications they prescribe, and the technologies they use. The United Kingdom separates insurance from employment and lets private companies sell insurance services already covered by the NHS (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2016, p. 177). The government invests a lot in primary and preventative care and systematically rations the budgets for personnel, facilities, and other medical resources.
Japan
Japan’s demographic reality requires the government to reform or modify its current healthcare system that is mainly dependent on employed citizens. Lower birthrates and the longest life expectancy make Japan’s payroll tax-funded system nearly impossible (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2016, p. 182). The government’s strategy so far includes keeping the prices of medications and physician fees relatively low, but the quality of services provided in underfunded hospitals is suffering.
Reference
Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2016). Health policy: A clinical approach (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education / Medical.