List of Countries With Universal Health Care

Universal health care is the practice and implementation of a medical system that ensures that all citizens have access to health care. It is a broad term that covers a variety of different systems throughout the world, with payment methods for these programs, as well as medical practices, varying greatly from country to country. There are several countries with active universal health care in place as of 2010, with many more implementing it in the future.

Canada

• Canada's health care system is a universal health care program that is publicly funded. All Canadian citizens receive health care coverage under a group of socialized insurance plans. Canadian citizens receive a variety of health services under the government plan, including preventative care and sickness care from primary medical doctors, and also hospital visits, dental visits and oral surgery. Health care services are distributed on a territorial basis, and all citizens receive health care despite medical background or personal income.

Mexico

• Mexico's health care system provides health care to residents on three different tiers--the insured and employed residents, the unemployed and uninsured and those in the private sector, who carry their own insurance plans through a private organization. These health care programs are not equal in care, but each citizen receives some form of medical coverage.

China

• As of 2010, China's health care system is in a state of reform, with leaders reworking the system as each day goes by. The system pays about 60 percent of patient's hospital bills. Prices of medical services are fixed, and doctors are treated as public officials. In 2009, China's State Council approved a plan to spend more than $100 billion to develop a new health care system which would provide coverage to all its citizens.

France

• The French Health Care System has been touted as one of the finest examples of universal health care. About 96 percent of French people receive free, or completely reimbursed, health care. Citizens can choose from a variety of health care providers, and their choices are not limited by income. Another success of its program is that it does not have patients on long waiting lists for surgeries and other medical procedures. This health care system is funded by taxes, largely an income tax on worker's salaries.

Germany

• German residents are provided with health care under the country's universal health care system. Citizens are able to choose from a variety of primary care physicians. The country provides health care to nearly 90 percent of its residents, whose income falls below a set standard. This income standard is consistently reviewed and revised, based on the economy and inflation. The rest of Germany's residents receive insurance through private companies.