UK National Health Care System Triple N’s

UK Costs United Kingdom is ranked 18 th universally vs USA at 37th Public healthcare is free Prescriptions co-pay run about $13 Prescriptions are free to the following ◦Under 16 ◦Over 60 ◦Full time students ◦Low income ◦Pregnant woman ◦Certain medical conditions ◦Discounts are provided for people with many prescriptions

UK Healthcare Finance 76% is funded by general taxation ◦29.7% of the gross annual income is taken from the average UK citizen, roughly the same as US (30.0%) ◦8.4% of the tax money is used for healthcare, as opposed to 16% of US’s tax money. ◦Where does all our $ go??? 19% is funded by national insurance contribution 5% is funded by user charges Private health insurance is only used by 12% of the population

UK vs USA Healthcare systems UK ◦Everyone has access to proper healthcare ◦Nurses only start out making $26-$29k ◦Because it’s free, they often get patients who don’t need help ◦Patients are limited to tests, treatments, prescriptions, etc. USA ◦Lacking insurance often deters people from getting proper healthcare, due to the high cost ◦Nurses $40-$50k=better service ◦No healthcare insurance will keep the poor from getting proper healthcare due to cost ◦Consumers pick the provider, and have more options to tests, treatments, prescriptions, etc.

How it’s organized You must see a primary care provider in order to see a specialist in the UK

Health Screening Since April 2008 everyone over 40 have been offered health checks for: ◦Heart disease ◦Stroke ◦Diabetes ◦Kidney disease under new government plan

Health Statistics Hospital fatality rates: ◦MI’s UK 6.3% vs 4.9% universally ◦Ischemic stroke UK 9.0% vs 5.0% universally ◦Hemorrhagic stroke UK 26.3% vs 19.8% universally Life expectancy ◦78.7 UK ◦78.0 USA Obesity ◦UK 29% ◦USA 34%

Health Statistics Infant Mortality Rate: ◦UK 5.0% ◦USA 6.4% Maternity Leave: ◦UK- 39 weeks paid, rising to 52 weeks in April 2010 ◦USA only 6-12 weeks