Four healthcare systems divided by the English language

Australia, Canada and Ireland have universal healthcare systems, although run on different lines to Britain's NHS. And then there is the USA
Four flags of Australia, Canada, Ireland and USA in healthcare symbol
Image: using images from iStockphoto

As David Cameron makes personal pledges on the future of the NHS, after fierce opposition to the government's NHS reform plans, the coalition would do well to examine other countries' experiences of running a public, universal health service.

European countries, explored in a previous article, tend to use a mix of public and private provision, with safety nets for those who can't afford the latter. Australia and Canada have comprehensive coverage, but it is provided in different ways to Britain's, with use of insurers, public and private. Canada's universal scheme, which used to be similar to the UK NHS, was almost downed in the 1970s by GPs looking at their colleagues' wealth south of the border - possibly showing what a health service with greater input from GPs might look like.

Ireland has its own NHS, but its system seems complex by comparison to Britain's. Meanwhile, it is difficult to see the plus points in the US healthcare model, which President Obama is working steadily to change – though he may be losing the battle.


While British and Irish visitors to Australia get access to the government-run Medicare scheme on a reciprocal basis, the system is quite different to the NHS.













Republic of Ireland and United States of America
