Levels in Which Government Cannot Participate
There are different types of government's participation in healthcare systems on a global scale. They will be discussed and explained in the following paper.
In the less developed countries, there is a possibility of a minimal role played in the regulation of health care by the government. For instance, in Ukraine the government several times failed to provide an efficient healthcare system and this resulted in a decreasing life expectancy (Fan, 2015).
Sometimes the state regulates its citizen’s safety and health through licensing healthcare providers and regulating medicine. A prominent example of such policy is Safe Work Australia that provides workers of any occupation with safe and healthy working environment (Australia, 2012).
Some governments (for example, the U.S. federal government) partially provide and purchase healthcare and insurance services as employers paying for medical services provided to particular groups of people (the elderly, veterans and so forth).
In some countries, governments act as marketplace regulators, regulating the business practices of a healthcare system and requiring its residents to purchase insurance.
There are national healthcare systems in the world operated directly by government and funded by taxation. In this case, also known as a single-payer system, the government covers health insurance and deals with many aspects of healthcare. This may be provided by government employees and government-run hospitals. The National Health Service applied in 1948 in the United Kingdom may serve as an example. Its main principle is to be free for all UK residents except for some charges (optical services, dental services, and prescriptions) (CNHS Choices, 2016).
References
Australia, S. W. (2012). Australian work health and safety strategy 2012-2022:
Healthy, safe and productive working lives.
CNHS Choices (2016). About the National Health Service (NHS). Retrieved on 13
Fan, Q. (2015). Ukraine’s Health System: Time for Change. Retrieved on 13
August 2016 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2015/04/06/ukraines-health-system-time-for-change
