The single-pay health plan, where the government collects taxes to fund national health insurance is very viable in the U.S. The government covers their all citizens’ medical bills when they make visits to the hospital whether public or private. When the U.S health market is compared to Canada’s health market, the U.S. government seems to be spending more when it comes to health care spending (Woolhandler, Campbell, Himmelstein, 2003). Also, U.S. is noted to have fewer physicians and hospital beds, not forgetting fewer hospital visits by patients. The prices and prescription drug utilization appeared to be higher in the U.S. than Canada. However, the U.S. government has performed better than their Canadian counterparts when it comes to providing quality services in health care especially in fighting cancer (Squires & Osborn, 2012). This is because U.S. has had a higher rate of cancer survival. The U.S. government is also the sole provider of healthcare in the country because health care is financed directly by taxation just like the Canadian government (Squires, 2011).
Another important role of the U.S government in health care sector is to drive the overall health developments in the country by securing important public health functions, designing relevant health policies and programs and regulate the general delivery of health services (Getrez & Allen, 2007). In the recent past, there has been the increase in the aggregate health care spending in the U.S. Economists have cautioned that the rise in health care spending could lower employment levels as well as economic growth. Furthermore, this spending could lead to a significant impact on the budget of the country (Haugen & Musser, 2012). In turn, many employers are limiting their exposure to health care costs by requiring their employees to increase their contributions. A market failure in health care is a condition where the economy cannot allocate health care resources efficiently and adequately. The government can respond to a market failure by establishing a body to regulate competition in the health care system.
References
Getzen, T. E., & Allen, B. H. (2007). Health care economics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Haugen, D. M., & Musser, S. (2012). Health care. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
Squires, D. (2011). the U.S. healthcare system in perspective: A comparison of twelve industrialized nations. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2011/Jul/US-Health-System-in-Perspective.aspx
Squires, D., & Osborn, R. (2012). International profiles of health care systems. The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2012/Nov/International-Profiles-of-Health-Care-Systems-2012.aspx
Woolhandler, S., Campbell, T., & Himmelstein, D. U. (2003). Costs of Health Care Administration in the United States and Canada. New England Journal of Medicine. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa022033
