WHO ranking: which countries have the best health insurance

The World Health Organization (WHO) assessed 194 countries and named those with the best health insurance, reports The report of Statista.

Photo: IStock

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Statistics 2023 report, Canada is the world's leading country in coverage of essential health services.

The organization ranked countries based on a range of indicators of key health issues, such as reproductive health, maternal, newborn and child health, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, and capacity and access to services.

On the subject: In which states are doctors most likely to misdiagnose?

WHO tracks two main indicators around the world: coverage of essential health services and financial exclusion, which is defined as “the proportion of a country's population with high health care expenditures relative to their total expenditures.”

Monitoring these indicators is important to support the UN goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030. This includes protection from financial risks, access to quality essential health services and access to safe, effective and affordable essential medicines and vaccines.

As the WHO explains, “Protecting people from the financial consequences of paying out of pocket for health care reduces the risk that people will be pushed into poverty because the cost of needed services and treatments will require them to spend their entire lives.” To recover, people need to spend their savings, sell assets or borrow money - and this destroys their future, and often the future of their children, the organization said.

Leaders and outsiders of the rating

Canada received an overall index score of 91 out of 100, followed by Iceland, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, each with 89 points. The USA scored 86 points. This is in stark contrast to countries at the other end of the spectrum, such as South Sudan (34 points), Central African Republic (32), Papua New Guinea (30), Chad (29) and Somalia (27).

It is also important to note here that because these data focus on the national level, they mask regional inequalities within countries and communities. For example, according to WHO, coverage of reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health services tends to be higher among those who are wealthier, more educated and live in urban areas, especially in low-income countries. While people living in poorer households, rural areas and households with older family members are more likely to fall further into poverty due to out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read all this on ForumDaily New York.

In terms of overall global trends, improvement in health coverage has stalled since 2015, increasing by just three index points to 68 by 2019 and remaining at that level until 2021. This is equivalent to approximately 4,5 billion people living without full coverage of essential health services in 2021.

Meanwhile, out-of-pocket health care costs pushed 2019 million people further into extreme poverty and 344 billion into relative poverty in 1,3.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Little Joys: 10 Gorgeous Items from Aldi for $5 and Under

Seven stereotypes about Americans that foreigners believe in

Prostitutes, drugs and unwillingness to pay taxes: Hunter Biden faces 9 charges in California

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.