Nationalized vs. Universal Health Care

Health care reform debates in politics have both obscured and illuminated the difference between nationalized and universal health care. Advocates on both sides of the debate bandy about--and often misuse--terms such as "nationalized" health care and "universal" health care.

Misconceptions

• Some debates on health care reform treat nationalized and universal health care as synonymous. Briefly stated, nationalized care is universal but not all universal health care is nationalized.

Identification

• Under nationalized health care, sometimes called "socialized medicine," the government owns hospitals and employs doctors and other providers. Universal health care means all people have access to health insurance and medical care.

Famous Ties

• Examples of nationalized health care include Britain's National Health Service, as well as the U.S. health care system for military veterans provided by the Veterans Administration.

Geography

• Universal health care refers to everyone having access to affordable care, not to the actual delivery of care. Canada's universal health care system, for example, covers all Canadians.

Significance

• Although universal health care, in theory at least, does not require government involvement, nearly all countries that provide universal care do so through a publicly funded program.

Features

• The Canadian system provides universal coverage but physicians in Canada are not government employees. Rather, they operate private practices and bill the government for services provided. The government funds health insurance coverage through taxes.