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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 2 of 11)
Josh Jan 26th 2012 11:08AM
Wonderful welfare system? Ha ha. Spoken from someone on the outside, obviously. Try living on it...for a week, a month. You will see just how "wonderful" it is to have a heart condition and to not be able to see a doctor or to get any medicine for your condition. I have to treat every day as if it were my last. I am only 43. Talk about your fun!!! Ok, try this. Try being turned out on a cold winter's night from the shelters around town, because they are over capacity. How about here in Ohio where one in 4 children does not know where their next meal is coming from. You are truly ignorant of the realities that so many citizens must face day after day after day. Not surprising from a conservative though, as you are the official "me me me" party.
Joel Mar 31st 2008 6:39PM
It is AMAZING to see people talk down about Universal Health care who have not even seen it at full force in any of the other countries. I am an American living in Hungary, which ranks a low 66 on the WHO list. USA is not much better at number 37. But the system here already seems better than that of the USA. The wait is shorter, the doctors really want to help, my baby girl is seen for 2 checkups per month, the doctors are not being paid spiffs from stupid Pharmaceuticals to push their drugs....I mean, its GREAT. Nobody here complains about somebody abusing the system either. They say they actually -want- to help their fellow countrymen...Something we Americans can't bare to do. HELP EACH OTHER. We have to line our pockets first before we can stoop to helping each other. We have to do a credit check to make sure the sick and dying are worthy of our hospital care. What a bunch of crap. Personally I think the USA does not deserve Universal Health care and I feel guilty for all that I have here in Europe.
Megan Oct 21st 2009 12:21AM
Joel....I totally agree with you, the healthcare in usa sucks bad. My sister and I were raised by a single mom that needed much help. Guess what she never got any. Most states in america have free healthcare for children that live in low income homes, which your supposed to get until your 21 yrs old....Well as far as I am concerned, ITS A BIG LIE!!!! Every time my mother applied for this so called HEALTHCARE, we were denied. Until I was 19 id never been to a denist, hardly ever been to the doctor. When we were sick, all we could do was fight the illness. Unless it was so bad we had to go, in which case my mom had to borrow money by some means.This land of the FREE is not free....Maybe in some ways, but it all depends on your interpretation. How does a country that at some point was based on freedom of speech....not allow us to speak up.....because its another lie, when we were kids in school, did we not get into trouble if we said something the teacher didn't agree with?? We sure as heck did. And when people stand outside businesses to make a stand for something, Do they not get arrested?? They sure do..... Plus if were SO FREE, how come praying isn't allowed at school?? Do we not have freedom of religion. Weren't we supposed to. What ever happened to respecting a person no matter what their beliefs are, because were all equal. So what if they wanna pray to their GOD at school.....if yours is different, pray to your GOD....Isn't that what this country CLAIMS to have....FREEDOM to be your own person....This country is outta control.... AND REALLY when ya think about it....we don't need this money system, Im sure at one point there wasn't a such thing...Why do we HAVE to have it????? Anyone every really stop and think about that...And I believe someone else on here said what ever happened to helping one another....Heck if I know, everyone here is so jealous of one another, wanting to beat the next person....Wanting to be "cool" persay....that they forget compassion.. The GOLDEN RULE doesn't exist any more...because if it did.. I mean really did...THE WORLD WOULD BE THE BEST PLACE.......anyway i know ive kinda ramble on about more then the general topic...but ill say more later.
Joel Mar 31st 2008 6:48PM
Oh, and left wing democrats? You mean REPUBLICRAT since Democrat and REpublicans are the same party. Minor differences. Try to imagine (This goes out to the republican diehards who still have a brain and can think for themselves) a country with MORE than 2 political parties. Try to imagine a country where the corporations don't pay off the government. A country where the people actually want to help their fellow citizens. A country with a health system that doesn't take bribes from corporate drug makers to push on people who don't really need them. A country where the people are NOT so self righteous when they have a decent job. That country is not the USA. The founding fathers would be appalled because of what we have done. Stop being blinded by REPUBLICRAT/DEMOPUBLICAN propaganda and start using your brain....Ugh. Maria is right. We all need to wake up in America but I truly do not see that happening.
delta Apr 2nd 2008 8:32PM
I am currently a mother of three children and a navy wife, as well as a nursing student. I grew up in a single parent home where my mother worked for the state government and found her salary made the offered health coverage inaccessible. I grew up knowing not to get sick because we could not afford to pay the doctors and still buy groceries. Other then required school physicals I never saw a doctor, fortunately never getting sick. I was pregnant with my first child when I started receiving routine medical care. During my seventh month of pregnancy I went to my doctor for a routine ultrasound that horrifically turned into an emergency c-section. (That's another tale of America's inept medical industry) My son was born with congenital anomalies requiring heart surgery. My insurance claimed it was a preexisting condition since his heart defect was formed in utero. Medicaid thankfully paid for the surgery. My husband joined the military and we were thankful for the insurance coverage since my son was 'uninsurable' in the private sector. That is until it came time for my son to have his next surgery. This was a year ago. The doctor paid for by our insurance was a military doctor (cardiologist) who had never preformed surgery on a child nor had he ever done the required procedure, but this was the doctor my insurance said I could use. This doctor and only this doctor as long as I lived on the military base. If I moved out of the military service area I could use whatever doctor I wanted to with only a 50% co-pay. Having no other options I moved my three children away from their father to have at least partial coverage for the doctor who had preformed my son's first two surgeries. After getting to West Virginia, the closest area outside of Tricare's coverage area, I now have to drive 31/2 hours each way for my children's pediatric appointments and only come up with 50% copay for my eldest son's surgery. ummmm....about 1.3 million dollars. I consider myself a fortunate American. I have options in my children's health care. I could have chosen an unskilled, unqualified military doctor. I can come up with 1.3 million dollars (catastophic cap does not cover pre-existing conditions) Or I can divorce my husband who is currently serving in a war zone, and apply for medicaid. That my friend is what makes America great.
Legendary conflict May 1st 2008 7:01PM
I realy do think we should be getting it here in the Us too. We need it, so I vote for Universal health care as well.:).
Legendary conflict May 1st 2008 8:38PM
i kinda think it's realy sad that we have to have sooo many people in the Us die because they don't get the proper health care....... and they die? what the hell is going on? we're using to much money on war, lets just help the people of our country and give free health care.. China is doing it, and they have over 3 Billion people.. IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
been there Jun 4th 2008 2:56PM
Hi,
On the national health issue, the source of the map is
is listed as Wikipedia. Is that a one hundred percent
accurate source? I have just returned to the US
(my home country) from living for 27 years in Egypt.
Guess what? Egypt has health care and it is not listed as such on the map.
Guess what? Libya also has health care and it is also not listed. Ditto for all of Eastern Europe. I could go on with more examples. I guess it is a good (or bad) thing for our country that most Americans don't travel or they would have a better idea of who has health care. By the way, most third world countries who have health care do not have the waits experienced by some western nations
health systems.
Had Americans spent more time learning how it works
over there, they might have insisted on health care instead of wars. I agree with the nurse.
sarah May 15th 2008 1:16PM
I am researching New Zealand's healthcare system now for a presentation and am entering the health care field as an occupational therapist in a year and a half, so now I am starting to really learn about all of the insurance and providing issues of our healthcare and around the world. I just wanted to add my experience of being in another country and my experience. When I was 16 my grandmother was working out in Paris, France, so I was invited to go for 4 days, anyhoo...Gramps and I were out to lunch , and the restaurant didn't have the order i wanted so he offered me the special, next thing I know I am passing out on the streets of paris like i was drunk off a bottle of jack, this was my first allergic reaction to the fish i had just eaten, well, gramps hails a cab, races me back to my hotelroom and next thing i know a doctor comes to my room, gives me a shot of something, dumps some pills in a bottle, all the wile smoking a cigarette and a half hour later, I was fine, back on my feet on the streets of Paris, never to eat haddock fish again, but this experience still amazes me of the quality and accuracy of this health care system in france.
I have yet to get that treatment here in the states.
sarah
Rick May 19th 2008 2:30PM
We have failed as a human race!!
Trhoughout history, men have abused power, tortured, kill and manipulate to profit from the pain of others.
In the 15th century when you did not pay taxes to the king, they use to burn your village, kill your family or torture you, today, they put you in jail. The system did not change because they are good, they just found a more profitable way of doing things, they keep you alive to pay your debt in prison.
Years back they used slavery as work force to make money without having to work , today since slavery was abolished, they make their profit and control you by blackmailing you with your health. They poison you with chemicals in your food and daily products to make you sick, they design drugs to just treat the symptoms but offer no cure so you depend on them for life, they have created a great market called cancer which reports billions of dollars a year when there are more than 10 known cures for it, they know that cancer as a business is close to the end since the truth is coming out and it is already too bvious what they are doing, but not to worry, that is why they engineered AIDS so when the cure for cancer is out, they still have another 100 years of killing people for profit.
This nation stole everything they have from the very begining and was founded whithout true moral values, they go around bullying other countries and stealing their resources, killing inocents and paying for foreign brains to develop their technology because they don't know the diference between a potatoe and a gps.
Their behavior is directly connected to their total lack of values and respect for other human lifes.
This is a modern way of slavery and I'm sorry to say but they are not going to let go of a multibllionaire industry just because your son is going to die, this is not going to have a pretty ending and it will take many years and lifes before we can see a change.
For now, those who have the oportunity to get out of this disgusting country, do it fast, because it is not going to get any better.
I was proud to be an American.
ac Jun 7th 2008 1:20AM
I feel sorry for American people. socialized health care is great. long wait for a surgery in Canada???that's a bad socialized health care. I'm so glad I'm not from America. gun loving, fat, loud, war lovers.....so messed up.
Mandy Jun 15th 2008 11:29PM
I am a 25yr old mother of 4. Growing up I was taught to be proud of being an American. Almost every member of my family was in the military and I was all geared up to join the Navy after 3 yrs in NJROTC, however I got pregnant and being a mother became more important.
The song "I'm proud to be an American" used to make me cry. History was my favorite subject. Now the song makes me cry for another reason. It is a crock. We are not free. I am truely ashamed of being an American. Everyone in our Government needs to re-read the pre-amble to the Constitution.
" We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ouselves and Prosterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
I was taught that when I was in third grade, taught what it meant, and to be proud of where I come from and what was sacrificed to give us the life we have here.
We have forgoten our history and what we used to stand for. We as a Country treat our fellow citizens like S**t! We allow our neighbors to die from a COLD!!!!! We should be ashamed and every other country has every right to look at us as though we are complete idiots. We are! We let this happen and i dont believe that we can save ourselves.
My husband is a tough man. Some of you know what i mean. He has been through it all. Gangs growing up, prison 3 times when he was younger and yet when I bought "Sicko" to write an english paper he started to cry and has never been able to finish the movie. The slap in the face with the truth litteraly made him sick and me as well.
I have e-mailed my Congress person, the Gov., and everyone I know to support H.R. 676. However the responces that I recieved from the members of Government were truely sad. No one cares about us.
Everywhere you turn here all you see is Churches. Our Courthouses, Government buildings, even our money reads "In GOD We trust". We put our hand on the Bible. Yet how can a people profess to love an entity we have never seen, nor heard, nor touched, but cannot show love and compassion to the men , women, and children we pass every day, talk to and shake hands with. We cannot ensure that the people have all around us have the basic right to live.
I am taking my children away from this horrible place. I dont know where yet but where ever I go I only hope that the people dont hate me and my family for the wrongs and inhuman acts of this Government.
ross Jun 16th 2008 11:39PM
I really don't understand why people wouldn't want this. The government should look at as it's duty to help ensure the health of it's citizens. The healthcare industry shouldn't be a business where insurance agencies decide to reject coverage for treatments that would save lives but cost their shareholders some extra dividends. Their idea of providing healthcare and maximizing profits for shareholders are conflicting ideas and something must fail in the end. People that argue against universal healthcare probably wouldn't feel that way if a friend or relative had to declare bankruptcy and/or lose their homes to pay for medical bills.
dan Jul 8th 2008 9:45AM
It amazes me that our country does not offer universal health care. Our government has done a total diservice to the people. How can anyone be refused health care? People losing their homes, people dying because they have been rejected care at a hospital because their insurance won't approve the procedure, people becoming rich (just like our oil monguls) - all at the expense of human life. For those who are against universal health care, maybe they are fortunate enough to work for an establishment that has good coverage - good for you - you are in the rare %. What will you do if you lose your job? Your company closes (we hear and see this daily). I am a teacher who struggles with montly bills (a job that everyone says is underpaid but does nothing to change it - we'd rather give money to our athletes). I see young people suffer everyday. It is a sad day when we can't provide for each other the basic needs. I don't care about the taxes for it. The rich would be taxed as well - and it's about time! If only we would stand up and say, "I have had enough!" It is time, we the people, (remember that line?) stand up and fight for what is truly the right thing to do. No more thinking of the "ME" mentality - but the "WE".
Don Schwarz Jul 11th 2008 8:23AM
As an American traveling in France a few years ago I broke my arm and was taken to an emergency care hospital by an Emergency ambulance where they gave me an EKG, did X-Rays, and applied intravenous medications before being sent to the American Hospital of Paris.
Although Blue Cross Blue Shield paid for my hospital care and the operation I received a bill from the French hospital for only $59.67 and did not receive a bill for the ambulance.
Don Schwarz Jul 11th 2008 8:40AM
In my previous comments on the emergency health care that I received in France is that it was excellent. Certainly equal to anything I could have expected in the USA.
Don Schwarz
Bryan Jul 17th 2008 12:11PM
4 costs of not having universal healthcare that should be explained to fiscal conservatives:
1) Most of the bankruptcies in the US are caused by medical expenses. We're already paying for that with higher prices in credit and on every commodity that the bankrupt people default on. You don't think the banks suck up those losses, do you? They pass them on to us.
2) We're already paying for the 50 million people who don't have health care. They get theirs at the emergency rooms and we all pay for it in higher prices from the hospitals.
3) Health insurance companies take 50% of the health care premium for administration and profit. Universal health care systems cost about 5% to administrate. Getting rid of the blood sucking middle man adds 45% more money to the system, though it take it away from the Insurance companies. That extra 45% could easily cover the approximate 15% of us that have NO coverage.
4) Perscription drugs should be bargained for using the power of buying in bulk. Every other sensible country in the world that buys pharmacutical products buys them as a country. We have laws crafted by lobbyists to prevent that. Guess who gets a cheaper price for a bottle of advil: an individual buying a single bottle or the USA buying 400 million bottles. If you guessed the single individual, you need an economics class.
Veronica Jul 24th 2008 12:27PM
Is anyone outraged that the US has no Universal Healthcare yet we happen to be paying for Universal healthcare in Iraq and Afghanistan? WTF!?!?!?!
Alicia Aug 14th 2008 2:36PM
I was in Chile a few years ago ,i was born there but left at a very young age ,anyway when i was there ,visiting family i was bitten by street dog ,i rush to hospital ,to make sure they gave the Rabie shots ,i was so imprese at the service i recived ,and did not have to pay for the service and to see the Doctor ,they have a great health system .
Aletea Aug 22nd 2008 1:51AM
Regardless of how uncomfortable it may be to wait for medical procedures, the facts speak for themselves. The healthcare of a country can usually be ranked by two things - infant mortality rate, and life expectancy at birth. According to the CIA World Factbook, 2008 info, the US ranks 41st in infant mortality (counting from lowest to highest), and 47th in life expectancy at birth (counting highest to lowest).
I took that list of countries (not counting warzones), and saw where they fall on the list compared to the US.
With infant mortality rate, 23 are better then the US, 11 are worse (and the ones better aren't necessarily just the ones you would think; Cuba ranks better, for example).
With life expectancy, 19 are better, 15 worse. The gap shrinks a bit there, which could call for some debate as to the reasons for that.
In the end, what this all means seems clear to me.