The Collective Action Problem of National Health Care
When societies come together to form governing organizations the goal is to provide a means to deal with public goods. The most basic of these being stability and security for it's masses, but as a nation grows it's governing body's obligation does as well. As the nation's responsibilities grow the problem of collective action a rises. In this paper health care will be the public good in focus, and how the United States, Canada, and Germany each deal with the disbursement of this public good. A critique of each will be done with three approaches to the collective action problem as the guide. These three outlooks are Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, the anarchistic solution, and the entrepreneurial solution. These will help us review each of the three chosen nations' methods of distributing health care to its citizens and which one works the best. The first country that we will look at is Germany. Germany has a strong tradition of state funded health care for it's citizens. The health care system of Germany was established 115 years ago on the heels of the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Having the oldest state run health care program, the German system has changed through out the years, yet has been able to adapt
Tutuncu, Dr. Rengin: The World Health Organization, Health Care and Services Profile, 1999; www.whocollab.od.mah.se/index.html Canada's health care programs and funding fall under the entrepreneurial solution format. The Canadian system is in a transition between two types of entrepreneurs, political and private. This transition from the political entrepreneur to the private one could result in a potential disparity in quality of health care for citizens of Canada. The reason for this would be that political entrepreneurs court the public for support, there for improvements in the care and coverage would benefit them, but private entrepreneurs are in pursuit of profits, and improvements in care would be sold at a higher cost to increase those profits. In this system and in the path it is going down, health care could improve if you can afford it, but for those who can't care will become less of an option. Unnamed: Canadian National Forum on Health, Canada's Health Care and Financing, 1999; www.nfh.hc-sc.gc.ca/public/canada.html Now comparing the three Germany, Canada, and the United States and their means of health care distribution, Germany is clearly the best. The German system allows for virtually complete health coverage for every citizen, without compromising quality. Health care in Germany is seen less as a commodity and more as a right, and it shows in their political entrepreneurial solution to it. Having health care as a right and not a commodity allows for all to benefit from advances in treatments and medicines without having to pay extra for it. This allows for a greater equality in the care that is provided. The Canadian system follows in seco
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Approximate Word count = 1128
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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