Swedish Health Care Systems Case Study

Comparison of Health Care Systems in the United States and Sweden
The Swedish health care system is a very principled one. Two longstanding Swedish values are repeatedly seen when reviewing the Swedish healthcare system: public welfare and subsidiarity, or addressing issues at the lowest possible level of government (Bidgood, 2013). Together, these values drive healthcare organization, delivery, and financing. In recent years, there has been a fair push for a Scandinavian-like health care system in the United States (US), which has gained more popularity with Bernie Sanders’s candidacy in the 2016 Presidential Primary Election (Moody, 2016). There are qualities of the Swedish health care system that I would recommend the US adopt, but I largely
This strength is a result of the Swedish value of subsidiarity (Bidgood, 2013). Another strength of the Swedish healthcare system is that it grants universal access to quality healthcare; this permits the use of health services and, in turn, prevents occurrence of many chronic conditions (Bidgood, 2012). Universal access to healthcare is a product of the Swedish value of public welfare (Bidgood, 2013). Lastly, a major strength of the Swedish healthcare system is the quality of care it provides, which is addressed in the following section of this paper titled, “Comparison of Health
Implementation of universal access to health care is recommended because access to health care is correlated with lower prevalence of chronic diseases (see Table 1). While I recommend implementation of universal access to health care, I do not find it politically feasible in the US’s current political landscape; the push from Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as well as the essential removal of penalty for not having health insurance, make it unlikely that Congress would suddenly approve a bill mandating health care for all. Adoption of low out-of-pocket caps for co-payment, co-insurance, and prescriptions are recommended as users of the US health care system may be more likely to utilize the system for acute and chronic conditions if they know it will be affordable. However, I do not find this politically feasible since this mandate would possibly raise taxes for all and curtail profits from insurance companies, providers, drug manufacturers, and biomedical equipment manufacturers; it is unlike a Republican-majority Congress to hike taxes or curb capitalism. A greater involvement of local government in health care delivery is recommended, as it allows the system to be