Abstract
Insurance coverage is an influential aspect of good healthcare to any nation. Precisely, accessibility to medical services needs to be easy and affordable to all socio-economic classes. This paper evaluates the types of medical care policies utilized in the United States and Japan. It assesses the accessibility to health care for individuals who have or lack insurance coverage. Additionally, it outlines the impact of the government and private sector performance in the regulation of the drug pricing and specifies the requirements of getting a referral program in both nations. Finally, the paper highlights the financial implications of the healthcare policies of both countries to the patients.
Part 2
Medical insurance is essential to the betterment of an individual’s health. Since most of the medical coverages offered in the United States are linked to employment as the services are provided by private entities, securing health insurance for children, unemployed and retired individuals is somewhat challenging. To cover for the retired individuals, the US healthcare system, through Medicare and Medicaid, partly covers for children on their parent’s accounts. In cases where the one is unemployed and lacks a medical coverage plan, he or she is compelled to cover the medical expenses. Retired individuals who had medical insurance during their employment period are eligible for medical cover even after their retirement. However, this coverage does not guarantee medical sponsorship in the case of a terminal illness (Thomson, Osborn, Squires & Reed, 2011). On the other hand, Japan has a universal system of dealing with medical affairs. As such, the government and members of the public contribute specific amounts in financing their medical expenditures. As a result, providing health coverage to people who are uninsured is lesser challenging than the United States. Since the government pays a fixed amount, this implies that children, the unemployed and retired individuals can access affordable medical care through the universal healthcare system.
Part a
Medication coverage in Japan is assured by the government as it pays for a larger section of the requirement. Precisely, it caters for seventy percent of the prices of drugs. In addition to the expenses catered for by the government, patients need to pay the remainder amount to receive medication after treatment. As such, the coverage for medication is guaranteed by the government through the universal healthcare policy (Thomson, Osborn, Squires & Reed, 2011). On the contrary, drug handling in the US is based on the insurer. Specifically, the government does not involve itself in the pricing and regulation of drug sales. This situation is largely accredited to the fact that pharmaceutical companies in the United States are accorded the liberty to dictate their own pricing. As such, patients need to pay a larger section of the medication fee during the treatment. In fact, insurance holders need to pay an extra amount in their total coverage fee to cater for the drug plan.
Part b
In spite of the fact that Japan has a universal medical care system allowing the citizens to visit the medical facilities of their choice, obtaining medical referrals requires a particular procedure. In most cases, the issuance of a referral occurs when the primary doctor determines that the patient needs special medical care to oversee the treatment process (Thomson, Osborn, Squires & Reed, 2011). As such, patients in Japan need to obtain a referral from a clinic or any other small healthcare facility. Additionally, a Japanese Health Insurance is an essential requirement for the referral program. Lack thereof implies that the patients need to pay for the referral expenses. Similarly, patients in the United States are required to have a written order from their primary doctors to see a specialist. In fact, the medical system in the US needs one to get a referral from their primary care doctor before being attended to by an expert out of their insurance term. As such, if one does not get a referral first, the insurance coverage does not cater for the payment. Consequently, a health insurance is an essential requirement for this procedure among US citizens. Lack thereof infers that one has to pay for their medical expenses.
Part c
Both the United States and Japan have effective policies that oversee the healthcare of the insurers. The Affordable Care Act in the United States specifies that companies cannot deny medical coverage to an individual with a preexisting condition (Thomson, Osborn, Squires & Reed, 2011). Through this provision, the insurance companies in the private sector are encouraged to promote fair play in their service offering. Similarly, the Japanese government protects the insurance holders against discrimination due to pre-existing medical conditions. Regardless of the medical condition one suffers from before or after the acquisition of the insurance cover, the amount paid for their medical coverage guarantees their access to healthcare services.
Part 3
The financial implications for the differences between the medical policies in the two nations are very distinct. Firstly, US citizens have to pay more for their health insurance coverages since the government lacks a particular regulation system to evaluate the pricing of medical services. On the contrary, Japan citizens pay less for medical services due to the involvement of the government (Thomson, Osborn, Squires & Reed, 2011). Second, the quality of medical services received in the United States is dependent on the type of health insurance cover an individual has. As such, those who pay more have an assurance to quality medical services while those on a budget plan receive lesser adequate medical care.
References
Thomson, S., Osborn, R., Squires, D., & Reed, S. J. (2011). International profiles of health care systems 2011: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
