Below are the 50 most developed countries in the world ranked according to the UN Human Development index which measures development and standard of living through estimates of GDP per capita, life expectancy, and education. There are a total of 197 countries in the world today. 193 of those countries are part of the United Nations.
45 out of the 50 most developed countries in the world below provide UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE for its citizens, essentially medicare for all. The following are the five countries from the list below that do not:
01. Cyprus
02. United Arab Emirates
03. Qatar
04. Bahrain
05. United States
Cyprus is currently In the process of moving to a Universal Healthcare system which will be completed in a few years. That will leave the United States alone with three Arab countries as being the only countries, of the 50 most developed in the world, that do not have Universal HealthCare.
Why does the United States, the wealthiest country in the world and the 3rd wealthiest per captia country, still not provide Universal Healthcare for its citizens? How could anyone say that Universal HealthCare is impossible or too expensive for the United States when nearly all of the 50 most developed countries in the world provide it for its citizens?
50 MOST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD RANKED:
01 -
Norway
02 -
Switzerland
03 -
Australia
04 -
Ireland
05 -
Germany
06 -
Iceland
07 - San Marino
08 -
Sweden
09 -
Singapore
10 -
Netherlands
11 -
Denmark
12
Canada
13 -
United States
14 -
United Kingdom
15 - Monaco
16 - Vatican City
17 -
Finland
18 -
New Zealand
19 -
Belgium
20 -
Liechtenstein
21 -
Japan
22 -
Austria
23 -
Luxembourg
24 -
Israel
25 - Taiwan
26 -
South Korea
27 -
France
28 -
Slovenia
29 -
Spain
30 -
Czech Republic
31 -
Italy
32 -
Malta
33 -
Estonia
34 -
Greece
35 -
Cyprus
36 -
Poland
37 -
United Arab Emirates
38 -
Andorra
39 -
Lithuania
40 -
Qatar
41 -
Slovakia
42 -
Brunei
43 -
Saudi Arabia
44 -
Latvia
45 -
Portugal
46 -
Bahrain
47 -
Chile
48 -
Hungary
49 -
Croatia
50 -
Argentina
Number 2, Switzerland, isn’t even close to having a Medicare for all system. It’s a “universal” system meaning there’s a mandate to purchase insurance (which is all private insurance), but it is as far from a socialized system, like in the UK, as it gets. The Swiss privatized healthcare system, outside of the mandate, is as free market as it gets. It is way less regulated than our system in many ways. It is also pretty much the best system out there, especially when it comes to needing specialized care. Same with the US and getting specialized care. Both the Swiss and the US are big medical tourism destinations for people in need of specialized treatments...if you can afford it.
Secondly a large majority of the countries on this list still have private health insurance, and there’s a reason for that. Socialized medicine, at its very best, is good for when whatever your dealing with can be treated by a family practitioner. Once you get into dealing with illness or ailments that require specialized care, e.g. rarer illness, cancer, complex surgeries, joint replacement, chronic illness, deteriorating conditions etc, socialized medicine sucks for you. Even if they offer the best treatments for you, these countries rarely do, you’re going to be put on a long waiting list. Not to forget, the doctors or surgeons administering the treatments, and the tech they use, are sub par compared to what the US and Swiss offer. Which is why, if you can afford it, you go to one of those countries to get it done. I’ve worked as an RN at an infusion center for 6 years now, and work mostly with cancer pts. I’m over 4 hours from the Canadian boarder, I still see Canadian patients all the time. It doesn’t have to be anything immediately life threatening either. If grandpa has a bad knee in the UK, grandpa doesn’t get a new knee. He gets pain pills and a cane. Up until that knee gets worse and worse, until he really needs a new knee. Then he’s gonna get put on a waiting list for 5-6 months. By that time, grandpa has had his mobility severely limited, deteriorating the rest of his body systems, and quality of living. Even if the surgery, provided by subpar ortho’s, goes well, it’s extremely rare for grandpa to get back to his former quality of life and independence, since the rest of his body has weakened, and a couple of other ailments have probably popped up from lack of mobility. Socialized medicine is sacrificing the needs of the minority (minority of medical conditions) for the needs of the majority (who usually don’t really need treatment all that badly).
It’s not all sunshine and unicorns with Medicare for all. I’m tired of hearing this non nuanced position from naive young people who only go to the doctor when they have a cold and haven’t had to deal with something serious. We aren’t even getting into the initial costs of socialized medicine. Let alone the secondary costs or even intangible costs like loss of ingenuity. Half the medical patents come from the US along with a shit ton of new drugs, because it’s actually worth it for inventors and investors to take the risk on something that requires hundreds of millions for research and development, just to still worry about a massive class action suit even after it’s been approved for something unforeseen. Massive tax burden aside, there is nothing free about Medicare for all. That doesn’t mean our system is wonderful and doesn’t need any work. It could use a lot. It’s an extremely complex system that narcissistic and naive people think they have all the answers too.
