Assignment Help on Health Economics Task Final Report

Introduction

The health care system in any country holds significant importance to the economy of that country since it has a magnanimous impact on the well-being and the quality of life of the target populations. These health systems can be defined as well-structured networks through which healthcare is organized, financed and delivered to the populations. Furthermore, these systems comprise of public health institutions and other resources that tends to meet and enhance the health-care needs of the target citizens (Petrosyan & Anderson, 2019). Hence, it is the primary responsibility of the government to develop strong and well-designed healthcare networks. When a country has a strong healthcare system, its citizens would be highly facilitated since they would have access to the most effective and quality healthcare services. This would ensure that the economy continues to thrive and progress. Hence, it can be asserted that a strong healthcare system would signal a powerful economy. The economy of France, having a GDP of around 2.8 million USD, can be used as a brilliant example to justify the tremendous impact the healthcare system has on the economy (Lee-Simion, 2017). Furthermore, an efficient healthcare system would also make a significant contribution to the public health sector, which adheres to promoting healthy lifestyle in the entire communities (Shiel, 2018).

Over the years, the healthcare systems have transformed greatly and have upgraded the provision of health services. This transformation can be traced through the achievements in healthcare standards across the globe. A few of the achievements of the healthcare industry includes a dramatic reduction in child mortality, increase of the average life-expectancy at birth, measures to control diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, HIV aids, greater awareness about the global health threats and access to clean water and sanitation (Koppaka, 2011). These progressions have been largely due to the advances in the medical science and reformation in the governance, financing and structuring of the healthcare systems worldwide. The proper governance of the healthcare system ensures an excellent execution of the tasks of planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, directing and decision-making and policy-making. A healthcare system with a hampered governance will never be able to achieve the system’s targets and goals. Furthermore, an exceptional financing system in the healthcare network will ensure proper distribution of financial risks, mobilizations of funds and thorough allocation and utilization of services. Moreover, a proper healthcare structure would ensure proper management and efficient usage of all resources, with the aim of achieving the system’s goals and missions (Hong, 2017). Hence, a productive combination of all these factors will ensure a thriving and a successful health management system. 

This report is primarily designed to focus on comparing and contrasting the structuring, financing and governance of the healthcare systems of China and Canada. The pros and cons of both the systems would also be thoroughly discussed in order to assess the effectiveness of both the frameworks. Furthermore, the report would also detail the proportion of health budget allocated to public health within each healthcare framework. The report ends with a general recommendations on how to enhance the workings of these healthcare systems. 

Structure, governance and Financing of the systems

The success of the healthcare system of any country can be determined by the structure, governance and the financing of the system. A good healthcare system would also ensure the feasibility, accessibility and the affordability of the healthcare services. Hence, it is the responsibility of every government to develop a well structured, financed and administered healthcare network which is in coherence with the needs and demands of its citizens. 

Two healthcare systems have been taken into consideration, the Chinese Healthcare system and the Canadian Healthcare system. A closer look at the Chinese healthcare system, shows that it is a well-designed health care network that underwent a major transformation in 2009. This transformation revolved around the policy of universal coverage and contributed in uplifting the equity of the healthcare network. This combined with the other healthcare reforms strengthened the structure of the Chinese Healthcare network (Li & Fu, 2017). This structure segments the population into two major groups, the urban group and the rural group. The financing of the urban residents group is covered by the Urban Resident medical Insurance, whereas the rural residents group is covered by the New Cooperative Medical scheme (Zhai, et al., 2017). The Urban group is further categorized into three other groups on the basis of the job function. The first group under this category is regulated by the Public Health Administration Act of 1988 and includes those people who are employed in the governmental organizations, the public health sector, the NGOs and the army. This group receives full coverage in terms of the medical expenses. The second group covers the urban enterprise employees and this group’s medical expenses are funded by insurance premiums paid both by the workers and the employers. The third group comprises of unemployed individuals whose healthcare funding is performed via both insurance premiums and governmental subsidies. Lastly, the rural residents’ health care is being funded by insurance premiums complemented with major voluntary insurance schemes set up by the local and central government.  (Hougaard, Osterdal, & Yu, 2011).