Global Health Care

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the modern forms of socialized health care common to Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden, followed by an examination of decentralized national health programs in Japan, Germany, and Mexico and former socialist systems in Russia and China. It evaluates socialized medicine. The chapter explains decentralized national health care programs. It also explains the reasons for the decline of socialist medicine. Socialized medicine refers to a system of health care delivery in which health care is provided in the form of a state-supported consumer service. Like the United States, physicians in Canada are generally private, self-employed, fee-for-service practitioners. Unlike the United States, doctors&s; fees are paid by government-sponsored national health insurance, known as Medicare. In 1948 the British government went much further and formed the National Health Service (NHS) by nationalizing and taking over the responsibility for the country&s;s health care. The Swedish National Health Service is financed through taxation.