Healthcare Delivery
HSS491-1403B-01
Instructor Paula
8/15/2014
Some content previously submitted in July & August of 2014 for HRM445-1403A-01. Some content previously submitted in July & November & December of 2013 for HCM307-1303A-03 & HCM367-1304A-01 & HCM387-1304B-01.
Japan
Japan is a nation of 127,052,765 people and a large portion of that population statistic is over the age of 65 years old. When it comes to healthcare this particular country follows the Bismarck Model of healthcare in the respect that the insurance system is from the employees and the employers by way of payroll deductions. The government also provides medical care and Japan has more private hospitals than the United States as well as universal healthcare (Physicians for a National Health Program, 2010). The United States follows the Out-of-Pocket Model for example, when someone is sick people can use facilities that they can pay directly from their own pocket when they get the medical services. The United States also has a system that no one can be denied basic medical care so if they use an emergency room they can be treated and billed later but, they will usually only receive necessary basic care. The United States is the only country that has many separate systems of healthcare for separate classes of people compared to other countries that use one model for all their people and they do not have universal healthcare (Physicians for a National Health Program, 2010).
Strengths and Weaknesses of Japan Japan has the healthiest country in the world because of the universal healthcare plan they have for their people. When it comes to the strengths of the system:
a. they are universal
b. costs are controlled by the government-imposed national fee schedule
c. there are limits on expenditure increases
d. there is no waiting for medical care
e. patients have the right to choose the hospital or physician they want to use
f. every physician is paid the same fee for the same procedure
g. prescriptions are covered
h. dental work is covered by the government
i. medical exams for pregnant women, infants, and children are free and unlimited

When it comes to the weaknesses of the healthcare system in Japan they are:
a. exclusion of preventive health exams
b. exclusion of normal deliveries
c. financial incentives encourage excess lab tests
d. financial incentives encourage excess prescription drugs written
e. long hospital stays (40 days average)
f. lack of nursing homes for the elderly who have a chronic illness
g. clinics and hospitals deal with excessive capacity problems
h. clinics and hospitals deal with duplication of services rendered
i. medical services are fragmented
j. the belief to let the chronically ill elderly die after they reach a certain age to cut costs (Context Institute, 2014).

Strengths and Weaknesses for the United States The United States is possibly one of the wealthiest nations in the world but, in my personal opinion, it is disappointing to know that not everyone has the opportunity to have affordable healthcare. Some of the strengths of the healthcare systems are:
a. high quality healthcare services for those that have good insurance
b. they are at the forefront of clinical research
c. major breakthroughs have happened in treating various diseases
d. there are a large number of specialists
e. there are a large number of physicians available for healthcare services Now for the weaknesses in healthcare in the United States and some of them are:
a. at least 37 million people have no health insurance or even health coverage
b. costs for healthcare are the highest per person and growing
c.