The Best and Worst of Two Systems

In regards to health care and ones individual needs; health care has an essential impact on ones ability to properly take care of there family and themselves. To seek health care options and health essentials often times go unnoticed until someone is facing an illness or more serious health care issue. Many people at this point began realize the importance of being provided with the equal opportunity alternatives services provided by a health care provider; also the health care facilities ability to give each individual in need the care they require. In the United States health care has been a prevalent on the forefront, which begs one to question is this scenario playing out in similar fashion for citizens residing around the world in different countries?

Although Canada and the United States are neighboring countries, each has totally opposite views where health care is concerned. In the United States the belief is that the only way to provide health care to its citizens is contingent on government programs, groups of privately owned insurance for individuals who require assistance. But this still leaves millions of people out of the health care loop. This is due to the fact that many people do not qualify for government assistance programs; or they cannot pay for treatment at private insurance companies.

The data released by the Census Bureau states that number of individuals without health insurance has risen upwards in the past year to 50.7 million, (Galewitz &Villegas, 2010). In Canada, healthcare is provided to its citizens regardless if the individual is able to pay for healthcare service or not. But Canada and the United States both have negatives and positives within their health care systems for instance; the United States is known for providing exceptional health care to its residents; although for one to utilize all of the available options you have to pay for services. In Canada although health services are provided to everyone, the waiting time for citizens to be seen in the hospitals and clinics is a long one. After assessing both countries health care systems we are now able to understand and identify what is working and what needs improvement.

Federal legislation-The Canada Health Act, put in place the conditions for individual territories and provinces in Canada to receive health care service funding (Canadian Health Care, 2007). The five base principles of the health act is; comprehensiveness in provided services, portability; services provided outside and within the country, accessibility, universality; which is all residence are entitled to the same level of healthcare, and public administration.

In the United States the health care system is funded privately, and being a primarily privately funded system, a lost in the way health care is provided for to citizens of the United States. A privately funded health care system divides health care into multiple categories which provide health care coverage for individuals. Preferred provider coverage and managed care,