Health Systems Of Canada And Denmark. General Overview

Denmark, with “...a population of 5.4 million primarily white people and about 65 000 liveborn infants per year”, (BMJ) is the southernmost Nordic country in Northern Europe, and is bordered by Germany, Sweden, and Norway. According to Infoplease, over many years, Denmark has evolved from a hunting and farming society, to a farming society. As stated by The Official Website of Denmark, Denmark is a Monarchy, made up of about 90% protestants, speaking primarily danish, and the capital is Copenhagen. The country, which is 16,359 square miles, equivalent to half the size of Maine, contains “several islands in the Baltic Sea; the two largest are Sjælland, the site of Copenhagen, and Fyn” (Infoplease), which are the dream destinations for many

Today Denmark is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Unemployment rates are low. Denmark also has low inflation and a surplus on both balance of payments and public expenditure. The World Economic Forum’s 2008 competitiveness index ranks Denmark in its Top Three world-wide. And the World Transparency Index ranks it as the world champion in non-corruption. Furthermore it should be noted that other international comparisons nominate the Danes as the happiest people in the world! Denmark’s success is so impressive.

The Canadian healthcare system was first established in the late 1940’s and is made up of socialized health insurance plans that provide coverage to every Canadian citizen. Publicly funded and managed, rules are set forth by the federal government. In the 1960’s, Canada in essence, has had universal healthcare coverage for all services provided by physicians and hospitals. Change your source ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada 2014) Whereas, the healthcare system in America originated in the 1800’s, but truly wasn’t established until the late 1920’s. Healthcare in America was initially for teachers for a low cost in Dallas Texas by Justin Kimball. Change you source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Healthcare in the United States is mostly privately funded with only a few publicly funded entities such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Canadian and U.S. healthcare system s have been under a lot of scrutiny over the years, being the topic of every political conversation. In this essay, I will write about the main differences between the U.S and Canadian Health-care system, and help shed some light on how each system works. The main points I will be discussing are the wait times to see a primary care physician, the funding of each countries health care system, accessibility to medical care and the quality of care.

Canada 's healthcare system is praised globally for its universal and free healthcare. It started to take shape after World War II in 1945. Health insurance was introduced and was attempted, but was not successful even though there was an increase in the spending of health related services and goods. Fast forward a few years to 1961 where Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan, developed the idea for an all-inclusive insurance plan. He later inspired the Medical Care Act in Canada in 1967, when he pointed out health care is a right for all Canadians. From this one thought, Canada has become of the many countries with a universal health care system. Ever since Tommy Douglas sparked the idea for health care coverage, Canada is praised for the way it carries out its system because of several key features. This system is publically funded, is universal and is accessible to everyone across the nation. Because this is a public system, funding comes from the tax payers and some federal funding, so there is no extra cost for the patients. Also, being a universal system it has offered care to all Canadians, immigrants and visitors. Unlike the U.S who does not provide healthcare to its entire population because it is a private system; access depends on how much someone could afford, and how

Since the end of the last ice age, Denmark has gone from a small hunter- gatherer society, to a super power during the Viking era, and slowly transformed into what it is today. Although not considered a super power in today’s standards it is still a thriving society, with citizens that are some of the happiest in the world. This is possible due in large part to their economy. The Danish military is small but completely capable of defending itself while simultaneously providing support to its allies. The physical environment of Denmark plays a significant part in what has made the country successful. All of these things combined truly make Denmark a model to live by.

Immigration is of great economic and social benefit to Canada. It’s an important role in developing our economy, and it shapes the nation into a multicultural nation. Immigration is a significant role in building our economy, providing growth in the labor force, making a strong economy, and becoming a multicultural nation.

Under this system individual citizens are provided preventative care and medical treatments from primary care physicians as well as access to hospitals, dental surgery and additional medical services. With few exceptions, all citizens qualify for health coverage regardless of medical history, personal income, or standard of living. (Canadian Health Care, 2004-2007) These insurance plans are provincial or territorial and are financed by both the federal and the provincial authorities. Provinces are similar to states in the US, and Canada has 10 provinces, which are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan. From about 1940 to 1950 the American government stepped in and encouraged employers to offer health insurance as a part of employee compensation packages which in turn the supply of health insurance increased as more and more commercial insurance companies entered the market and the use of healthcare increased as medical technology became more sophisticated.

Canada is often referred to as a nation of immigrants, however, for a long period of time these immigrants came from a limited side of the world. Most people who migrated to the Dominion before the turn of the twentieth century left European nations, predominately the British Isles and Western Europe. The pattern of immigration began to shift particularly in the 1890s, as it became more likely for southern and eastern Europeans to make the trip. Additionally, another notable change in the pattern of immigration was the increase in Asian workers beginning to arrive in the first couple of decades after Confederation. As a result of the influx of immigrants entering Canada, racism flourished in a variety of ways from individual acts of

Canada has a system that consists of socialized health insurance plans that provide coverage to all its citizens. Canada health care is largely government-funded, with most services provided by private enterprises with some publicly funds all, which is controlled and administered, within guidelines set by the federal government ("Healthy Canadians: A Federal report on Comparable Health Indicators ", 2009).

why is because these 2 countries health system are not similar at all because Canada has single

Canada 's health care system is a group of socialized health insurance plans that provides coverage to all Canadian citizens. It is publicly funded and administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. Under the health care system, individual citizens are provided preventative care and medical treatments from primary care physicians as well as access to hospitals, dental surgery and additional medical services. With a few exceptions, all citizens qualify for health coverage regardless of medical history, personal income, or standard of living. In addition to public health care providers such as primary care doctors and hospitals, many private clinics offering specialized services also operate in Canada.

The post-industrial nation is considered an MEDC, with a highly mixed economy and one of the highest GDP per capita (International Monetary Fund). Denmark ranks as the 6th highest according to the World Bank and IMF and 9th highest according to the UN (United Nations), with an overall GDP per capita of $60,634.4 (World Bank). Halfway through the 19th century Denmark became an industrialized exporter of agricultural produce, introducing their social and labor market reforms in 1933, serving as a foundation for the current welfare state model that Denmark exists on today, and highly developed mixed economy (source). Though part of the European Union since 1973, the Danes maintain their own currency, the Danish Crowns (dkk), the current trade

Nationally, Norway’s parliament serves as the political decision-making body for health care. They are responsible for planning and subsidizing the education of health personnel, they develop and implement national health policies, and they are responsible for the funding of national health care. The Norwegian health care system is primarily funded by taxes but is supplemented by state grants and some user charges. National Insurance Scheme (NIS) was created in 1967 by the Norwegian government. It is a universal, tax-funded, single payer health system that covers 100 percent of the Norwegian citizens and residents, unless they opt out of it. The health status of the Norwegian population is considered one of the best in the world; yet, in 2003 Norway only spent 10.3% of their gross domestic product on health care. (4) The United States spends a much higher percent of our gross domestic product than Norway, yet our life expectancy in the United States is ranked 27th. Norway’s life expectancy is ranked 14th. The difference in spending is felt to be caused by inflated prices for health care services in the United States. (3)

The Danish government spent 9.5% of its GDP on Healthcare in 2006, whereas only 0.19% of the GDP was spent on Oral Health in the same year (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009). The government pays approximately 85% of the national costs of health care, while the remaining 15% come from individuals through co payments for treatments (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009). However, for dental care it’s almost the opposite, government only funds 20% of the national cost for adult dental services and the remaining 80% is paid by the dentist (Kravitz & Treasure, 2009).

Sweden gives everyone equal access to health care services under a largely decentralized, taxpayer-funded system (Swedish Institute 2014). The health care system in Sweden is financed primarily through taxes levied by county councils and municipalities. Sweden 's health care system is organized and managed on three levels: national, regional and local. At the national level, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs establishes principles and guidelines for care and sets the political agenda for health and medical care. At the regional level, responsibility for financing and providing health care is decentralized to the county councils. A county council is a political body whose representatives are elected by the public every four years on the same day as the national general election. At the local level, municipalities are responsible for maintaining the immediate environment of citizens such as water supply and social welfare services (Swedish Institute 2014). Costs for health and medical care amount to approximately nine percent of Sweden’s gross domestic product (GDP), a figure that has remained fairly stable since the early 1980s. Seventy-one percent of health care is funded through local taxation, and county councils have the right to collect income tax. The state finances the bulk of health care costs, with the patient paying a small nominal fee for examination. The state pays for approximately ninety seven percent of medical costs (InterNations 2014). In