How to Compare the U.S. Healthcare System with Other Countries'

The United States is one of the world's few developed countries that does not have a socialized, single-payer health-care system. In 2008, health-care costs in the United States amounted to 16.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, or GDP. This is one of the highest percentages among developed countries, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Instructions

• 1

  Go to the library and check out books on health-care policy. Select books that are scholarly in nature, and avoid those that have a particular political bent. In lieu of the library, you can also download or order books online.

• 2

  Visit government-run health-care websites, both for the United States and other countries. Look up the website's statistics, and locate salient facts such as the payment system (single payer, government subsidy, for-profit, etc.) and prescription drug prices, among other points. This will give you a good feel for the various health-care policies in different nations, and how they compare to the United States.

• 3

  After reading the books and websites, write down a list of various countries' health-care system's key points, such as cost, innovation, number of hospitals, response time, access and waiting-list time. Start with the United States, and then list at least five developed countries and the key health-care policy points of each.