Explain the Competing Pressures Which Health Care Systems in Europe Face Today

Explain the competing pressures which health care systems in Europe face today. Critically assess and compare how the systems in two countries have responded to these pressures. (2500) According to the WHO commission on macroeconomics and health, investment in health care can be an effective method to improve both economic growth and public health. This is because a healthy nation is not only good in itself; it is also a key factor for economic development and reduction in poverty, which in turn enhances public health. Therefore over the years health care policy has played an ever increasing role in the welfare states across Europe. After the Great Depression, capitalism lost a lot of its popularity. Thus the primacy of politics and communitarianism replaced the ideology of self-interest and reliance on markets to achieve societal goals. Although a lot of countries in Continental Europe made major cutbacks during this time, in Scandinavia there was a renewal and advancement of the welfare state. Ideas such as Keynesianism, social democracy, the ‘Bismarkian welfare state’ became increasingly prevalent in order to help those in society who could not work for one reason or another. During the second half of the 20th century post-materialism changed the way of living for most people and so the increasing need for the welfare state was evident. People started caring about different societal issues which were not as cared for before. The elderly, who were usually the poorest in society, were now cared for and other factors such as; single mothers, increased divorced rates, contraception and increased living age became issues that were undertaken by both state and society as a whole. By 1990 Danish sociologist Gøsta Esping-Andersen, published a book titled ‘The Three Worlds of Welfare Sate Capitalism’ in which he generalisation of the different types of welfare state that exist today. Although it may be a bit outdated for today, many scholars still apply his knowledge