This Is What Health Care Systems Look Like Around The World

South Korea

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South Korea has been praised as the country with the best healthcare systems in the world. Treatment in the country is incredibly affordable and readily available with around 10 beds available to every 1000 person in the country. They provide universal healthcare but chronic illness like cancer isn't covered.

Taiwan

Image Source: The Sun

This might surprise you, but Taiwan has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. The government runs the public health insurance system, that citizens have to originally pay to get in to. The private healthcare system here is said to be better due to the sheer number of people using the public system.

Denmark

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Denmark has a high quality healthcare system; all residents have the right to free healthcare as long as they hold a central person register number and a health insurance card. Prescriptions are harder to come by in Denmark and they cover items we might be able to get over the counter here in the US.

Austria

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There are two steps of healthcare made available to Austrians, basic public funded care is available to all and then private healthcare can be used by those who want faster access. They have one of the best doctor to patient ratios; private healthcare is more popular here thanks to smaller wards.

Japan

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People in Japan have the longest life expectancy in the world and this has to be partly down to due to their healthcare system. They have an excessive amount of MRI and CT scanners in comparison to the average of the world and the public healthcare is of high quality. I mean look at their hospital food!

Australia

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Australia also has a high life expectancy and the treatment here is quite accessible and affordable. Medicare, as it is known, is supported for by the government and they cover all hospital treatment and doctor consultations. It's a beautiful place to live on top of the great healthcare too.

France

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France has a high standard of healthcare and they benefit from a high number of doctors with some of the shortest emergency waiting times in Europe. Workers and those retired are all covered by the public health insurance system and most fees are covered here. All chronic illnesses like cancer are covered here.

Spain

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Spain has been said to have one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world, although each of the regions in the country differ in their healthcare delivery. The equipment is of the highest quality, although there has been a lack of staff available in recent years.

Belgium

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Belgium's healthcare actually comes in three separate types, public, private and university/semi-private institutions. They have some of the most consistent numbers and it's a high standard. If you work in Belgium you pay for national health insurance and so are covered most of the time.

UK

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Each of the countries within the UK all have their own separate healthcare systems although they are all funded publicly. The end of life care has been described as some of the best in the world and almost all medicines are readily available. The NHS (National Health Service) suffers with some of the longer wait times however.

USA

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Unlike most developed countries, the US doesn't have a free healthcare program, and we are instead served mostly by public and private systems. Around a third of the population are covered by the publicly funded programs like Medicare; we also have the most expensive healthcare system of the higher-income countries.

Switzerland

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Health insurance is mandatory in Switzerland and it can only be provided by private systems. The government will subsidize any premiums you may have through taxes. This is great for those with a lower income as it means that even if you're on a minimum wage you can afford healthcare.

Netherlands

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The Netherlands follow the same system as Switzerland with Health Insurance being mandatory and available to all. Insurers are required, by law, to accept any applicant to them, meaning that the money that needs to be paid is significantly cheaper than it is over here in the US.

Luxembourg

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Luxembourg seems like an obscure country to discuss, however they are one of the most medically advanced countries; they make eHealth development a priority. All employees pay towards the system, but it only works out at about 5.44% of a citizens gross income is deducted!

Singapore

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Singapore use something known as the 3Ms system which supports public statutory insurance but not primary or specialist care for outpatients. Working-age people pay more in order to allow the older generation lower premiums and MediSave, a national health savings account pays for hospital care.

China

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China has a universally funded medical program with employees enrolled in work insurance systems. Deductibles apply although you don't have to pay everything back. Prescription drugs are uncapped meaning they can be expensive and 44% of healthcare is funded by the public.

India

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India also provides universal free care at clinics and hospitals run by the government. They are however notorious for being understaffed and the equipment is poor; A new program (PM-JAY) has been introduced to try and combat this. Corruption and poor quality hampers their work.

Colombia

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Colombia is one of the most successful South American countries for healthcare. Almost 100% of the population are covered by mandatory health insurance and all citizens have access to the same services. Its financed via taxes and employment insurance which helps cover the costs for those with a lower income.

Chile

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Chile has statutory insurance for all workers and neither the government or any employers make any contributions towards this. All funds are instead held by Social Security institutions. Anyone else excluded here is covered by the National Health Fund instead.

Brazil

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Brazil's system is run by the government and offers universal comprehensive insurance. This is funded by taxes at all levels and covers all types of healthcare. Wait times have been known to be unnecessarily long and the delays can cause treatment costs to increase.

Costa Rica

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Costa Rica follows a single-payer system that has been extremely successful. Over 85% of the population have access to some high quality and readily available comprehensive care, all delivered for free. The system combines social security with services offered by their Ministry of Health.

Argentina

Image Source: The Boston Globe

Argentina's healthcare system has been targeted by many as being poor in comparison to much of the rest of the world especially of a higher income. Over a third of their population aren't covered by the system and remain uninsured. They have to rely on public healthcare.

Africa As A Whole

Image Source: The United Nations

Africa, as a continent, has struggled to get to the point where universal free healthcare is available. Although this has been agreed across all countries, progress has been incredibly slow in making this a reality. This may have something to do with the low income per capita of the citizens.

Rwanda

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Rwanda has been one of the more successful countries in Africa when it comes to looking after its citizens during illness. The national health insurance here covers over 90% of the population whereas some other countries on the continent cover less than 10% of their population.

Ghana

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Ghana has been working towards better healthcare, they built a public-private partnership to help make care more readily available. This is funded by taxes which helps lower the costs of care; All residents are made to enroll and pay a premium annually in return for the free healthcare.

Kenya

Image Source: Los Angeles Times

Kenya run a similar program to that of Ghana, in this situation the salaried employees are legally made to enroll to the premium and self-employed citizens have the option. This can be out of the reach financially for many however and therefore a small percentage of the population are left uninsured.

Single-Payer Systems

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In this system a government provides universal insurance and the care is provided by hospitals and private practices. Citizens have the option to pay for private insurance in addition and sometimes a lump-sum payment might be used to adopt to a system for the year.

Socialized Systems

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The NHS of the UK is an example of a socialized system and this is where the government runs the hospitals and provides insurance. You do have the option to opt in to  private insurance, often with work places to have access to doctors that aren't employed by the government.

Privatised-Regulated

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Privatised and regulated systems mean all citizens earning below a certain amount have to take health insurance. If they earn above this threshold then employees are allowed to buy private insurance although this isn't typically a very popular option within the countries.

Privatised

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A solely privatised system can allow for specialised care to be made available to everyone, and waiting times tend to be cut down, or patients choices for treatment can be greater than in other systems. Expenditure in smaller countries in the EU like Cyprus is about 8% with this system.