MEMORANDUM

TO: Rebecca Schultz, Cedric Mutebi, Fouad Alzaroui, Chafic Dahabra

FROM: Maya Baiyasi

DATE: January 31, 2017

SUBJECT: Lack of Healthcare Around the World

The lack of healthcare for certain populations (such as the homeless and the poverty-stricken)
within the United States is an issue that must be acted upon. While the United States is not
ranked the highest in quality of healthcare, there are still other countries around the world where
the issue is more widespread and harmful toward those respective nations (Rosenthal). As a
group, we can organize research done on varying levels of healthcare around the world to
analyze what must be done to aid the United States in increasing overall healthcare for its
citizens in the most effective manner. A decrease in the price of healthcare, and an increase in the
access of aid is the overall goal that our group should focus on.

Through analysis and research of the World Health Organizations (WHO) ranking of the worlds
best health systems, the United States ranks 37 on the list (World Health Organization). The top
ranked country is currently France, indicating that the United States needs to improve (Rodwin).
The United States and other countries should emulate from other areas that are better at keeping
their citizens healthy with the appropriate healthcare. Our problem, lack of healthcare to all
citizens, would be better solved in France, as the problem is most acute there. According to the
World Health Report in 2000, French government covers approximately 77% of health
expenditure (World Health Organization). In comparison, the United States spends more on
health care than any other nation, however, that is made up for with the cost of healthcare
(Leonard). Not everyone in the United States population is provided with healthcare, and
acquiring it can be quite expensive, limiting the amount of people who can afford it. Our
problem is highlighted through this lack of access. Our group should use this information and
decide on projects that can help increase awareness of this problem, and increase knowledge of
how one can gain access to healthcare to treat themselves when in need.

However, there are still multiple countries, including Libya, Somalia, and Ethiopia that rank
lower on the ranked list of healthcare systems. This demonstrates that the issue of healthcare is
more prevalent in most other countries, specifically third world areas. One of the last countries
on the list is Myanmar, most likely due to the governments low expenditure on healthcare, with
the range typically spent being from 0.5% to 3% (Latt). This causes WHO to consistently place
Myanmar as having one of the worst, if not the worst, healthcare systems in the world (World
Health Organization). People of Myanmar are provided with healthcare (for example, hospital
visits and checkups) for free, however, patients still have to pay for the cost of treatment and
other services, therefore indicating that their healthcare system is not really free after all.
Another reason for the poor health in Myanmar is the lack of basic equipment needed to treat
patients (Latt). These reasons and analyzations can be compared and used to improve healthcare
within the United States. Perhaps the solution is not to necessarily supply healthcare for free for
all citizens, but rather to put more money into improving technology to treat patients, and
lowering the cost of treatment in order for more people to gain access to help.

Nevertheless, while this information helps to keep everything in perspective, it is better to

compare apples to apples, rather than apples to oranges. In that sense, it would make more
sense to compare the United States and their healthcare system to other developed nations. The
United States has consistently performed well below European counterparts (such as France) that
have similar economic levels (Rosenthal). Many Americans are distracted by the fact that so
much money is spent on healthcare a year, that they do not notice that still so many citizens are
not provided adequate care when needed. Therefore, I propose that the group work with non-
profit organizations in order to find out more information on how to increase awareness of this
issue, and possibly contribute to decreasing the amount of people with limited access.

Regards, and keep in mind that our group should get in touch with nonprofit organizations as
quickly as possible in order to determine plausible ways to increase the knowledge of healthcare
options.

Maya Baiyasi
 Works Cited

Rodwin, V.G. (10 September 2002). NIH & American Journal of Public Health. American

Journal of Public Health.

Rosenthal, Elisabeth (December 21, 2013). News Analysis - Health Care's Road to Ruin.

New York Times. January 25, 2017.

Latt, Nyi. Healthcare in Myanmar. Nagoya Journal of Medical Science 78.2 (2016): 123134.

Print.

Leonard, Kimberly (22 Jan 2016). "Could Universal Health Care Save U.S. Taxpayers Money?

U.S. News & World Report. 28 January 2017.

World Health Organization (2008). World Alliance for Patient Safety Progress Report. WHO

IRIS.