Sick around The World - Admission/Application Essay Example

Sick Around the World Affiliation:   Sick Around the World The United Kingdom spends 8.3% of their GDP on health-care and do not charge premiums to its citizens since it is funded by taxation (FRONTLINE, 2008). Their funds are sufficient to offer basic medical care, and they even go to the extent of giving drugs for free to the elderly and the young people. The government of United Kingdom ensures every citizen has medical care and that all the medical professionals are paid (Swenson, 2011).

Their system of funding ensures that hospitals do not learn out of finances due to unpaid bills. Japan, on the other hand, charges medical premiums to every family in order to fund the medical sector. The japan system has often failed to offer reliable funds since not all citizens afford $280 every month (FRONTLINE, 2008). However, the japan government ensures that all people have a medical insurance cover besides the monthly payable premiums. Use of the insurance policy and monthly premiums has reduced the costs spent by the government on health care.

The government of Germany spends 10.7% of their GDP on health care, and each citizen is charged $750 every month (Swenson, 2011). They also charge $15 for every three months as a copayment although they exempt people with special conditions such as pregnant women. Their system is similar to that of japan since they ensure that all citizens have insurance policies, and the government decides the costs of medication. Their single payment system has made many doctors prefer being family doctors for the rich families rather than serving the public.

Taiwan operates in a similar way to the Germany. They use smartcards that have medical history for the patient and hence doctors can understand their patients well (FRONTLINE, 2008). Taiwan’s health sector experiences difficulties in finances due to high insurance premiums which have become unaffordable to most of its citizens. Switzerland medical care is highly rated, and the charges for medical care are considerably low as compared to other countries. The Swiss government spends 11.6% of their total GDP, which ensures that the medical sector operated with no financial difficulties.

The country has sensitized the need for insurance policies and has been successful since 97% of its population has insurance policies (Swenson, 2011). The US health sector has a high standard but should also learn from the successes and failures of the five other capitalist democracies. They should implement the chip technology operated by the Swiss health sector to ensure that every doctor has enough information to attend to any patient at any time. Sensitizing the citizens on health insurance policies is critical since it saves costs for both the government and the individual (FRONTLINE, 2008).

The government should be mindful when determining on the monthly premiums so that every citizen can afford. The government should implement a single payment system for the medical sector so that the citizens are protected from exploitation by dishonest medical personnel. ReferencesFRONTLINE. (2008, April 10). FRONTLINE | Sick Around the World | Preview Taiwan | PBS [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5nu9OGiG0wFRONTLINE. (2008, April 10). FRONTLINE | Sick Around the World | Preview Germany | PBS [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvHFeGZwFoQFRONTLINE. (2008, April 15). Five Capitalist Democracies & How They Do It | Sick Around The World | FRONTLINE | PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/Swenson, M. (2011, May 25). Sick Around the World: Contrasting U.S. Health Care with 5 Other Capitalist Countries | Michele Swenson. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-swenson/sick-around-the-world-con_b_158559.html