Running Head: SAT 1 – SAT TASK 3: HEALTHCARE FINANCING 1
Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership C489 – Task 3
Name
Date
Western Governors University
, SAT 1 – SAT TASK 2: HEALTHCARE FINANCING 2
A. Compare the United States Healthcare System
1. Japanese and American Comparison
Comparing the United States healthcare system to other countries is complicated
due to the fact that every “country has unique political, economic, and social attributes that
contribute to its spending” on healthcare (Sawyer & Cox, 2018). The comparison between
the healthcare systems of the United States and Japan is of great interest because of the
efficiency that is seen in the economy of the country of Japan. Japan’s economy is ranked
as either the second or third largest worldwide economy, depending on the year, and yet
the country has very little natural resources from which to create their incredible economy
(Reid, 2008). What does a country of such significant economic prowess do differently than
the United, in terms of the distribution of healthcare for its citizens?
The Japanese universal Statutory Health Insurance System (SHIS) is compulsory.
Everyone must buy into the healthcare system through one of more than 3,400 insurers, of
noncompeting public and quasi-private health insurance insurers made up of employers,
and government run insurance systems (International Health Care System Profiles [IHCSP],
n.d). The national government sets provider fees every two years, and subsidizes local
government, insurers and medical providers with oversight supervision (IHCSP, n.d.).
“People are not allowed to buy unlisted services with the budget provided, but they can
purchase such services with their own money” (IHCSP, n.d.). The cost of care in Japan is
one of the lowest in the world with an overnight hospital stay costing as little as $10 per day
for a shared room and around $90 per day for a private room (Reid, 2008). In 2017 the per
capita cost per person in Japan was $4,717 (Sawyer & Cox, 2018).
The American healthcare system is no longer compulsory after some provisions of the Affordable
Health Care Act were dismantled, however more than 91 percent of Americans
Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership C489 – Task 3
Name
Date
Western Governors University
, SAT 1 – SAT TASK 2: HEALTHCARE FINANCING 2
A. Compare the United States Healthcare System
1. Japanese and American Comparison
Comparing the United States healthcare system to other countries is complicated
due to the fact that every “country has unique political, economic, and social attributes that
contribute to its spending” on healthcare (Sawyer & Cox, 2018). The comparison between
the healthcare systems of the United States and Japan is of great interest because of the
efficiency that is seen in the economy of the country of Japan. Japan’s economy is ranked
as either the second or third largest worldwide economy, depending on the year, and yet
the country has very little natural resources from which to create their incredible economy
(Reid, 2008). What does a country of such significant economic prowess do differently than
the United, in terms of the distribution of healthcare for its citizens?
The Japanese universal Statutory Health Insurance System (SHIS) is compulsory.
Everyone must buy into the healthcare system through one of more than 3,400 insurers, of
noncompeting public and quasi-private health insurance insurers made up of employers,
and government run insurance systems (International Health Care System Profiles [IHCSP],
n.d). The national government sets provider fees every two years, and subsidizes local
government, insurers and medical providers with oversight supervision (IHCSP, n.d.).
“People are not allowed to buy unlisted services with the budget provided, but they can
purchase such services with their own money” (IHCSP, n.d.). The cost of care in Japan is
one of the lowest in the world with an overnight hospital stay costing as little as $10 per day
for a shared room and around $90 per day for a private room (Reid, 2008). In 2017 the per
capita cost per person in Japan was $4,717 (Sawyer & Cox, 2018).
The American healthcare system is no longer compulsory after some provisions of the Affordable
Health Care Act were dismantled, however more than 91 percent of Americans
