Comparative Analysis of Health Care Systems in Three Developed Countries: Germany, Sweden and the United States

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the comparison of international health care data with the hope that such studies will enable individual systems to learn from other systems. There are, however, few rigorous comparative studies of health care systems. There is little evidence to suggest which model is to be preferred in what circumstances. This paper attempts to compare health care systems in three developed countries, including Germany, Sweden and the United States in terms of access, cost and quality. This paper suggests potential policies for population health in developed countries. They include universal health care coverage, the reduction of poverty and income inequality and the reallocation from health care expenditures to non-health care expenditures.