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The listed demographic characteristics above include population, OECD member status, and education enrollment.

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Healthcare values and expectations are a noted difference when it comes to side-by-side comparison.
Focus on patients and the people is greater in Sweden than in the United States.

Additional References:
U.S. Senate. (2021, October 12). "Political Parties". Retrieved from https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Political_Parties_vrd.htm.

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Leading causes of death and major health issues

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Leading causes of death and major health issues

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- Cancer damages the United States as the 2nd leading cause of death, as do Neoplasms in Sweden.
- It's highlighted because these types of deaths are extremely high and these numbers are seen in densely populated developed countries.
- Unintentional injuries in the U.S., a non-health related cause of death also separates both countries.
- In Sweden, neurological disease stains the country after respiratory issues, which could be a result of individual lifestyle and genetics.

1. Khan, S., & de Munter, J. (2020). "Socialstyrelsen - Statistics on causes of death 2019". Retrieved from https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/globalassets/sharepoint-dokument/artikelkatalog/statistik/2020-6-6799.pdf.
2. Kochanek, K. D., Xu, J., & Arias, E. (2020). "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Mortality in the United States, 2019". Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db395.htm.
3. Philipp, J. (2020). "10 Facts About Healthcare in Sweden. The Borgen Project". Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-healthcare-in-sweden/.

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- The data listed above shows the differences between life expectancy, infant mortality, maternal mortality, and hospital bed count.
- It is evident that Sweden's numbers are significantly better when it comes to lifespan and mortality rates.
- Their focus on a healthier patient life reflects in their numbers instead of profiting on people's health status.

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Public and private health care financing/insurance system

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Public and private health care financing/insurance system

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- In the United States, a mix of public and private, for-profit and nonprofit insurers and health care providers.

- Federal government provides funding for the national Medicare program for people 65 and older, as well as some people with disabilities.

- States manage and pay for local coverage.

- Private insurance, the most common form of coverage, is usually provided by employers.

- Both public and private insurers set their own benefit packages and cost-sharing procedures within various regulations.

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Sweden

- Among OECD countries, Sweden ranked 5th in terms of highest expenditure on health as a share of its gross domestic product in 2018.

- Per capita expenditure increased annually between 2013 and 2020.
- It reached 54.9 thousand "kronor" (6,056.26 US dollars) in 2020.

United States

- Among OECD Countries, the United States ranked 1st in highest expenditure on health as a share of its gross domestic product in 2018.

- Per capita expenditure reached $12,000 in 2020.

- Has increased 31-fold in the last 4 decades from $353 in 1970 to $11,582 in 2019.

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Sweden

- Did not impose lockdowns as much of the world did when Covid-19 began to spread.

- They took a unique approach, allowing residents themselves to decide whether or not to take the globally imposed measures.

- The idea was that was vulnerable people would choose to stay isolated, and the healthier people would only get mildly sick and, in the meantime, contribute to broader population immunity.

- Only after cases and deaths significantly rose after the initial worldwide lockdowns started taking place did the nation been to impose stricter restrictions.

- The country was in dire condition for a long time with regards to Covid in result, but has seen a strong vaccination rate among its people, which is encouraging.

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Sweden

- Providers are examined for meeting quality targets linked with a pay-for-performance scheme or requirements for accreditation.

- Additionally, they are assessed based on both patient and national quality registries, and dialogue meetings between providers and regions.

- Registries store data on diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in both inpatient and outpatient care.

- Disease management programs, which are developed at the regional level, also enforce patient safety targets.

- Rates of avoidable hospitalization for chronic conditions, including asthma, are among the lowest in the OECD.

United States

- The "National Quality Strategy" is a set of national aims to guide local, state, and national quality improvement efforts. It is imposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

- The 2018 publishment of the “National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report” revealed that the overall quality of care inconsistently improved between 2000 and 2016.

- Affordability did not improve in the slightest while most person-centered care and patient safety measurements did.

- Federal Law requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to publicly report performance on certain measures.
- The "Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set" is among the most widely used references for grading provider quality.

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1. Barrows, K. (2020). "The U.S. Health Care System: An international perspective - department for professional employees, AFL". Retrieved from https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/the-us-health-care-system-an-international-perspective.
2. Philipp, J. (2020). "10 Facts About Healthcare in Sweden. The Borgen Project". Retrieved from https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-healthcare-in-sweden/.
3. Swedish Institute. (2021). Life in Sweden. Retrieved from https://sweden.se/life/.
4. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2021). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.
5. World Bank, World Development Indicators. (2021). "Sweden". Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/country/sweden.
6. World Bank, World Development Indicators. (2021). "United States". Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/country/united-states

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Sweden

- In terms of physician education, medical schools are public and there are no tuition fees.

- Primary care accounts for 17% of all health expenditures nationwide, and 16% of the nation’s physicians are working.

- Outpatient specialists are salaried employees who work at regional/university hospitals, and patients have free will within these services.

- After-hours care is required of primary care providers. 3 to 5 practices within close proximity of each other collaborate to provide this care.

- In terms of hospitals, there 7 public university ones, and roughly 70 public community hospitals owned by the regions. In addition, there are 6 private hospitals which include emergency, orthopedic, and surgery centers.

United States
- In terms of physician education, most medical schools are public. In 2019, average tuition fees were $39,153 in public medical schools and $62,529 in private schools. About 3/4  of students graduate with debt averaging $200,000.

- Approximately 1/3 of all active doctors are primary care physicians. The majority of their revenues come from fee-for-service payments.

- Outpatient specialists work in both private practices and hospitals. The majority are in group practices and are free to choose what insurance they’ll accept.

- Despite after-care hours not being required by primary physicians, it's becoming available at private urgent-care centers.

- Of the nearly 5200 short-terms acute care hospitals in 2018, 57% were nonprofit, 25% were for profit, and 19% were public in 2018. Also, there were 209 federal government hospitals.

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Benefits and Limitations to these systems

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Benefits and Limitations to these systems

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Sweden

- The Universal Health System allows the entire population to have access to care any time, without regard to financial status.

- Tax collection at multiple levels allows people to have access to high quality care without having to bear significant financial burdens.

- Logistical challenges may arise at times due to the accepting nature of the system at large.

- This creates a need for more doctors, hospitals, and other staff and facilities to avoid crashes.

United States

- Non-Universal Healthcare prevents access to high quality, affordable care at all times.

- Government-based insurance is only widely available to the elderly and to the significantly needy.

- For the most part, everyone else has to turn to employers to acquire insurance, which creates significant hurdles for the nation to establish wider overall coverage.

- Logistical issues are less likely to be an issue in this country, as many people simply cannot afford care and will not even bother seeking it.

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7. Tikkanen, R., Osborn, R., Mossialos, E., Djordjevic, A., & Wharton, G. A. (2021). "International Health Care System Profiles - Sweden". Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/sweden#care-delivery-and-payment.
8. Tikkanen, R., Osborn, R., Mossialos, E., Djordjevic, A., & Wharton, G. A. (2021). "International Health Care System Profiles - United States". Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/united-states.
9. Yang, J. (2021). "Sweden: Per capita expenditure on Health 2013-2020". Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/953090/per-capita-expenditure-on-health-in-sweden/#:~:text=The%20per%20capita%20expenditure%20on,thousand%20Swedish%20kronor%20per%20capita.

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United States

- Imposed nationwide lockdowns for some time, but was still late compared to the other developed countries.

- Even when the lockdowns were imposed, people moved around fairly frequently as many businesses were deemed “essential” when they probably shouldn’t have.

- Poor leadership in the country gave way for turmoil over the matter of masks and social distancing between the nation’s residents and leaders.

- Slightly disappointing vaccination rate even until today, which, along with the other points mentioned, has left the nation vulnerable to new outbreaks and variants.