| |
Health
care systems:
A
health care system is the organization by which health
care is provided. There is no generally accepted systematic
of health care systems. Usually, they are categorized
according to the financing which is only a limited view
of a health care system.
Purely private enterprise health care systems are comparatively
rare. Where they exist, it is usually for a comparatively
well-off subpopulation in a poorer country with a poorer
standard of health care–for instance, private
clinics for a small, wealthy expatriate population in
an otherwise poor country. But there are countries with
a majority-private health care system with residual
public service (see Medicare, Medicaid). The other major
models are public insurance systems.
A
Social security health care model is where workers and
their families are insured by the State. A Publicly
funded health care model is where the residents of the
country are insured by the State. Within this branch
is Single-payer health care, which describes a type
of financing system in which a single entity, typically
a government run organisation, acts as the administrator
(or "payer") to collect all health care fees,
and pay out all health care costs. Some advocates of
universal health care assert that single-payer systems
save money that could be used directly towards health
care by reducing administrative waste. In practice this
means that the government collects taxes from the public,
businesses, etc., creates an entity to administer the
supply of health care and then pays health care professionals.
Harry Wachtel estimate a single payer universal healthcare
system will actually save money through reduced bureaucratic
administration costs.
Social
health insurance is where the whole population or most
of the population is a member of a sickness insurance
company. Most health services are provided by private
enterprises which act as contractors, billing the government
for patient care. In almost every country with a government
health care system a parallel private system is allowed
to operate. This is sometimes referred to as two-tier
health care. The scale, extent, and funding of these
private systems is very variable. |
|