Essay Instructions: Canada
Write a 3-5 page essay, comparing the U.S. health care system with the health system of your choosing (PLEASE NOTE: The main body of the paper should be 3-5 pages minimum in length. This page count does not include the title/cover page, abstract, table of contents, or references). The written paper is to be prepared in accordance with the following guidelines and must contain all of the following components:
• TITLE PAGE (Follow APA guidelines)
• ABSTRACT- Limit the abstract to 150 words. Do not repeat the title at the beginning of the abstract and do not cite references in it. Avoid abbreviations. Include the purpose of the article, main findings, and principle conclusions. Although the abstract is at the beginning of the paper, it is often easier to write the paper and then go back and write your abstract.
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION (overview of the topic - usually one to two paragraphs)
• REVIEW OF LITERATURE ??" Write an overview of the background and development of the US health care system as well as the background and development of the health care system of the nation you choose. Be sure to review the 4 basic components of health services delivery: financing, insurance, delivery, and payment and how they function in each the US system vs. the other system (see pgs. 5-7 of the textbook for more information).
o Reference citations must be present within the body of the paper and should be included for all information obtained from an outside source. All reference citations should have a corresponding full reference listed on the reference page. In order to add depth to your paper, I fully anticipate students using supplemental references (journal articles, web sources, and books) in addition to the text book. Please note that Wikipedia is not considered a scholarly source for use in academic papers- Please avoid using it ?
• DISCUSSION - analysis of the information presented in the review of literature. Compare and contrast the features of the US health care system and the system of the nation/country you choose. Discuss how the system components impact health professionals as well as patients (positively and/or negatively).
• CONCLUSION - Based on information presented in discussion
• RECOMMENDATIONS - student's personal thoughts or suggestions for change. Identify any system features that you would like to see incorporated into the US system.
• REFERENCES: Students are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of references and must follow the APA guidelines for citations.
***Please note: Papers must include headings for each of the sections listed above. Headings should centered and capitalized.
Additional information:
Manuscript Preparation: Assignment should be prepared in Microsoft Office as a .doc or .docx file. The manuscript shall be typewritten double-spaced with 1" margins on all four sides. The pages are to be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of text. The page number should in the upper right hand corner of each page. The font for the type should 12 point Times Roman or Times New Roman.
Text Requirements: The cover page should contain the title and author’s names. The abstract should be on a separate page. The Table of Contents should be on a separate page. The main text should begin on a separate page and be not less than 3-5 pages double-spaced pages. You may exceed 3-5 pages of text for the body of your paper. However, papers that are shorter in length will have points deducted.
Illustrations (optional): If tables, graphs, figures, etc., are included they should be appropriately identified.
Assignment Submission: Submit as an attached document under the Written Assignment tab. Click on View/Complete Assignment: Written Assignment #1. Scroll down to attach local file and upload your Word Document. Click submit.
* Please refrain from emailing assignments to the instructor.
***Some APA resources have been placed in the Course materials section for your convenience. Here you will find information on writing a title page, how to paraphrase, how to cite references within the paper etc.
The book:
Delivering Healthcare in America.
A Systems Approach
F O U R T H E D I T I O N
Leiyu Shi, DrPH, MBA, MPA Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Co- Director, Johns Hopkins Primary Care Policy Center for the Underserved Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland
Douglas A. Singh, PhD, MBA Associate Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University South Bend South Bend, Indiana
Jones and Barlett Publishers
Sudbury ,Massachusetts.
Boston,London,Toronto,Singapore.
Context: Canada:Canada implemented its national health in-surance system referred to as Medicare under the Medical Care Act of 1966. Currently, Medicare is composed of 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans sharing basic standards of coverage as defined by the Canada Health Act ( Health Canada 2006). The bulk of financing for Medicare comes from general provincial tax revenues; the federal government provides a constant amount that is independent of actu-al expenditures. The public pays for nearly 70 percent of total health care expenditures in Canada. The remaining 30 percent, paying for supplementary services such as drugs, dental care, and vision care, is financed pri-vately ( Canadian Institute for Health Infor-mation 2005). Provincial and territorial departments of health have the responsibili-ty to administer medical insurance plans, de-termine reimbursement for providers, anddeliver certain public health services. Prov-inces are required by law to provide reason-able access to all medically necessary services and to provide portability of bene-fits from province to province. The program provides comprehensive coverage, but ex-cludes dental care. Coverage for home health care and prescription drugs varies across the provinces. To cover these exclusions, many Canadians have supplemental coverage through private insurance provided by em-ployers. Patients are free to select their providers ( Akaho et al. 1998). Several prov-inces have established contracts with providers in the United States for certain specialized services. However, contrary to popular per-ceptions, few Canadians have to obtain health care services in the United States due to waiting times or unavailability of technol-ogy in their own country ( Katz et al. 2002). Nearly all the Canadian provinces ( On-tario being one exception) have resorted to regionalization by creating administrative districts within each province. The objective of regionalization is to decentralize authori-ty and responsibility to more efficiently ad-dress local needs and to promote citizen participation in health care decision- making ( Church and Barker 1998). The majority of Canadian hospitals are operated as private nonprofit entities run by community boards of trustees, voluntary organizations, or mu-nicipalities, and most physicians are in pri-vate practice ( Health Canada 2006). Most provinces use global budgets and allocate set reimbursement amounts for each hospital. Physicians are paid fee- for- service rates ne-gotiated between each provincial govern-ment and medical association ( MacPhee 1996; Naylor 1999). Over the years, federal financial support to the provinces was drastically reduced. Un-der the increasing burden of higher costs,certain provinces, such as Alberta and On-tario, have started small- scale experimenta-tion with privatization. However, in 2003, the Health Council of Canada, comprised of rep-resentatives of federal, provincial, and terri-torial governments, as well as health care experts, was established to assess Canadas health care system performance and establish goals for improvement. The Councils 2003 First Ministers Accord on Health Care Re-newal created a five- year, $ 16 billion Health Reform Fund targeted to improving primary health care, home care, and catastrophic drug coverage ( Health Council of Canada 2005).