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What Countries Have Universal Health Care?
A few nights ago, I watched Michael Moore's new documentary, SiCKO, which focuses its crosshair on the health care industry in the United States. At one point in the movie, Mr. Moore claims that the United States is the only "westernized" country without universal health care. Is that true?First, what does he mean by "westernized"? Defining the "western world" can be subjective, and definitions will vary depending on what criteria is used. Are you defining it from a cultural standpoint? Political? Economical? Perhaps this is why Mr. Moore felt comfortable making such a broad generalization. Is it even possible to truly define what the "western world" really is?
Okay, forget the western world. (I think I know what he meant anyway.) What countries on our good green Earth provide some sort of universal health care for their citizens? Here they are:
Countries in blue have some type of universal health care. Countries in green are currently attempting to implement some type of universal health care. Orange countries have universal health coverage provided by United States war funding. Source. Click to enlarge.
Afghanistan*, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq*, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and the United Kingdom
*Universal health coverage provided by United States war funding
There you go. Keep in mind: this is a simple list of countries that have some sort of publicly sponsored health care system. For instance, Sri Lanka may be far from having a true, working universal health care system like France, but prescription drugs are provided by a government-owned drug manufacturer. This qualifies as "some sort of publicly sponsored, universal health care system."
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Reader Comments (Page 11 of 11)
Craig Dec 27th 2007 4:07PM
Having just watched 'sicko' on Christmas day, I am glad to say that my family and I have vowed to make 2008 the year that our family leaves America. My grandparents came here from Germany after WWII, when this was the finest country in the world, a place where dreams could come true, a place where democracy ruled. For years they watched as the living conditions declined. The working class got poorer and the rich got richer and more powerful. This is not the country that they immigrated to. This is a country run by the drug companies, and the insurance companies and the lawyers. A corrupt government that is ruled by the lobbyists. I have been so fed up over the years as I see our countries money being sent overseas for some grim political objective instead of being spent right here where it is needed. America needs to look at what we have right here instead of focusing all its attention on what is out there and what we can fix in the rest of the world. Frankly, I'm sick of fighting for change that will probably never happen. Even if the healthcare system does get approved for some sort of reform, that change (if it doesn't get shot down at a later time) would probably take 20-30 years to take effect. But we can spend billions to attack Iraq in just a few months. Go figure....
I'll watch from afar as America sinks into becoming the third world country that it seems so desperate to save.
gschoggins Jan 1st 2008 2:01AM
I have long considered myself a conservative american patriot. I watched the movie over the holidays despite my perceived dislike of Mr. Moore. I thought hard before posting on this site however my inner self is soo pissed off about blindly accepting fact for fiction from the media and the liars we elect thinking they are there for us. I am so disgusted with this country right now i cannot think about anything else. To the earlier post about moving from this great country I hope and pray that we as a people somehow GET IT!! before its too late and vote every prick that is an incumbent in washington out of office be it democrat or republican and demand a health system that works. It sickened me the most when i heard the lady say she had 3 jobs and Mr. Bush complemented her on this instead of saying what the hell is wrong with us as a nation to have to work 3 jobs and still have nothing. This is the fundemental problem today is that we are not given family time or bonding time anymore to teach our children that greed is not the way. PLEASE for god sakes America wake up before we have to move because we will be the 3rd world country that we so freely describe when talking about other nations! THX for listening Mr. Pissed Off from Orlando Florida.
Cynthia Aug 19th 2009 9:26PM
Thank you!
Rober Heintze Jan 15th 2008 11:15AM
After recently exploring Michael Moore's blog pages, I was very insulted by Mike and Lee's "Moore Watch" which calls all of us wanting universal health care, stupid, missinformed Marxists. Obviously, these cold-hearted clowns have never had to go without anything, or they wouldn't be making fun of struggling single parent mothers like Mia Jones and Marsey.
Rober Heintze Jan 18th 2008 12:04PM
I'm Robert...While the ultra right wing capitalists continue to bash populism (the constitution is a populist document by the way), the U.S. is one of the few remaining democracies in the world that doesn't offer universal health care to its citizens. Also, its citizens are not the richest in the world per capita. That honor goes to Luxemborg, with an median income of $66,000 dollar equivalent. The U.S. ranks sixth. We have a double economy here in america and the rich capitalists are totally oblivious to the diminishing spending power of the american consumer. They only look at GNP, GDP, inflation, and one consumer category (unemployment). I can't believe how many financial anaylists on cable are denying that we are headed for a recession. Most of the warning signs are already here including, record home foreclosures, vehicle repos, and personal bankruptcy filings! Capitalism is still the best system, but it does have some succinct flaws, namely the grossly uneven distribution of wealth. In socialist democracies like Denmark, Iceland, and Canada, that have national health care--its citizens are less materialistic, more content, and experience much lower crime rates than the U.S. (the world's leading jailer, by the way) BECAUSE their wealth is more evenly distributed among its citizens! So to all you selfish, self-righteous, war mongering conservative capitalists who think that dems are air heads JUST because we disagree with you (I thought we lived here in america to have the freedom to dissent)--GET A CLUE ALREADY! I used to be a republican until I extensively researched the issues. Demmies aren't missinformed. They merely possess a different INTERPRETATION of the facts.