Timeline of universal healthcare
From Timelines
This is a timeline of universal healthcare, focusing especially on first year implementation of universal healthcare policies in every adopting country.
Contents
Big picture
| Time period | Development summary |
|---|---|
| 1800s | Several European countries begin implementing some form of social insurance that would eventually evolve into a national health insurance program.[1] The first step is taken in Germany, when the government establishes The world's first national social health insurance system. |
| 1912 < | Era of universal healthcare adoption as state policy, beginning in Norway.[2] |
| Recent times | Currently, most developed countries and an increasing number of developing countries provide access to some type of universal healthcare. |
Full timeline
Brief explanation of healthcare system type:
- Single Payer: Insurance is provided for all residents (or citizens) by the government, which pays all health care expenses except for copays and coinsurance. Providers may be public, private, or a combination of both.[3]
- Two-Tier: Catastrophic or minimum insurance coverage is provided or mandated by the government for all residents (or citizens) while allowing the purchase of additional voluntary insurance or fee-for service care when desired.[3]
- Insurance Mandate: All citizens are mandated by the government to purchase insurance, whether from private, public, or non-profit insurers. In some cases the insurer list is quite restrictive, while in others a healthy private market for insurance is simply regulated and standardized by the government. In this kind of system insurers are barred from rejecting sick individuals and individuals are required to purchase insurance, in order to prevent typical health care market failures from arising.[3]
| Year | Event type | Details | Present time system type (when aplicable) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883 | The world's first national social health insurance system originates in Germany with Otto Von Bismarck's Sickness Insurance Law, starting to implement compulsory sickness insurance program for workers.[1][4][5][6] | Germany | ||
| 1891 | Healthcare begins taking effect in Sweden as a form of labor subsidized mutual benefit.[1] | Sweden | ||
| 1892 | Healthcare begins taking effect in Denmark.[1] | Denmark | ||
| 1910 | Healthcare begins taking effect in France.[1] | France | ||
| 1912 | Healthcare begins taking effect in Switzerland.[1] | Switzerland | ||
| 1912 | Policy | Norway becomes the first country to adopt a universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Norway |
| 1938 | Policy | Japan achieves universal healthcare. The National Health Insurance act is enacted, widening the coverage of public health insurance not only to farmers, but also to the general public not covered by the Health Insurance Law.[8][7] | Single payer[3] | Japan |
| 1938 | Policy | New Zealand establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Two Tier[3] | New Zealand |
| 1941 | Policy | The Third Reich institutes a universal healthcare system. Free for widows and orphans, the benefits are enjoyed only by "racial comrades".[9][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Germany |
| 1945 | Policy | Belgium adopts universal healthcare policy, after introducing compulsory insurance.[10][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Belgium |
| 1945 | United States President Harry S. Truman proposes a national health insurance program. The Congress would not approve it.[11] | United States | ||
| 1948 (July 5) | The National Health Service Act 1946 is launched in England, creating the National Health Service (NHS) that would provide the majority of healthcare in the country.[12][13][7] | Single Payer[3] | United Kingdom | |
| 1950 | Policy | Kuwait starts implementing free comprehensive healthcare to its citizens.[14][7][15] | Single Payer[3] | Kuwait |
| 1954 | Policy | The government of North Vietnam establishes universal healthcare.[7][16] | Vietnam | |
| 1955 | Policy | Sweden implements a universal healthcare system, nine year after the legislation was passed in 1946.[17][2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Sweden |
| 1955 | Policy | North Korea establishes universal healthcare.[7] | North Korea | |
| 1957 | Policy | Bahrain adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Bahrain |
| 1958 | Policy | Brunei achieves universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Brunei |
| 1966 | Policy | Andorra adopts universal healthcare.[2] | Andorra | |
| 1966 | Policy | Universal healthcare is achieved in Canada, after the Parliament approves a publicly-funded healthcare system under the principle that access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on location, income, or wealth.[18][2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Canada |
| 1966 | Policy | The Dutch Sickness Fund Act (Ziekenfondswet, ZFW) enters into force in the Netherlands, adding compulsory insurance for the whole population to cover severe medical risks.[19] This is the year the Netherlands is considered having adopted universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier[3] | Netherlands |
| 1967 | Policy | Austria adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Austria |
| 1970 | Policy | Comprehensive healthcare begins in Oman.[14] | Oman | |
| 1971 | Policy | The United Arab Emirates adopt universal healthcare.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | United Arab Emirates |
| 1972 | Policy | Finland adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Finland |
| 1972 | Policy | Slovenia establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Single Payer[3] | Slovenia |
| 1973 | Policy | Denmark adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier | Denmark |
| 1973 | Policy | Luxemburg adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Luxembourg |
| 1974 | Policy | France adopts universal healthcare policy after law proclaims that the French National Health Insurance should be universal.[20][2][7] | Two Tier[3] | France |
| 1975 | Policy | Australia adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier[3] | Australia |
| 1975 | Policy | Algeria establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Algeria | |
| 1976 | Policy | After reunification of Vietnam, the universal healthcare system is extended to the South.[16] | Vietnam | |
| 1977 | Policy | Ireland adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier[3] | Ireland |
| 1977 | Policy | South Korea passes law mandating health insurance for industrial workers.[15] | South Korea | |
| 1978 | Policy | Italy adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Italy |
| 1979 | Policy | Portugal's National Healthcare Service, known nationally as Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS) starts providing universal free healthcare nationwide.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Portugal |
| 1980 | Policy | Cyprus adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Cyprus |
| 1983 | Policy | Greece adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Greece |
| 1986 | Policy | Spain adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Spain |
| 1988 | Policy | South Korea adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Insurance Mandate | South Korea |
| 1988 | Policy | Brazil establishes the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde), an approach to having free healthcare for all, a constitutional right.[7][15][21] | Brazil | |
| 1990 | Policy | Iceland adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Single Payer[3] | Iceland |
| 1991 | Policy | Colombia establishes the right to healthcare within its constitution.[22] | Colombia | |
| 1993 | Policy | Hong Kong adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier[3] | Hong Kong |
| 1993 | Policy | Colombia establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Colombia | |
| 1993 | Policy | Singapore adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Two Tier[3] | Singapore |
| 1994 | Policy | Switzerland adopts universal healthcare policy.[2][7] | Insurance Mandate[3] | Switzerland |
| 1994 | Policy | Moldova begins a mandatory health insurance program with the aim of providing the entire population with basic healthcare. Today, people who are unemployed or not working are insured by the government, while employed Moldovans chip in a portion of their income through a payroll tax or a flat-rate contribution.[23] | Moldova | |
| 1995 | Policy | Israel passes National Health Insurance Law, setting out a system of universal healthcare.[7] | Two Tier[3] | Israel |
| 1995 | Policy | Taiwan institutes its National Health Insurance (NHI). | Taiwan | |
| 1999 | Program launch | Rwanda establishes a national health plan. Since then, healthcare insurance would extend to reach about 91% of the population, a greater percentage than the United States.[23][15] | Rwanda | |
| 1999 | Policy | Venezuela establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Venezuela | |
| 2000 | Recognition | The French healthcare system is ranked N° 1 by the World Health Organization.[20] | France | |
| 2002 | Policy | Thailand introduces the "30-bhat scheme" (Less than US$ 1 at the time), a plan aimed at extending health coverage to all citizens. About 14 million previously uninsured people are added to the Thai system with this plan. According to a WHO report, prescription drugs, hospitalizations and services like chemotherapy, surgery and emergency care are free to patients.[23][7][15] | Thailand | |
| 2005 | Policy | Chile establishes access aimed at all its citizens to a basic package guaranteeing treatments for up to 80 health problems, setting upper limits to waiting times and out-of-pocket payment for treatments.[22] | Chile | |
| 2009 (April 10) | Policy | The Government of Peru publishes the Law on Health Insurance to enable all citizens access to quality health services.[24] | Peru | |
| 2011 | Policy | China achieves universal health insurance with more than 95% of its population insured. This represents the largest expansion of insurance coverage in human history.[23] | China | |
| 2012 | Policy | Mexico establishes universal healthcare.[7][25] | Mexico | |
| 2014 | Policy | With the House of Representatives’s passage of the Democrats’ reform bill, the United States approaches universal health care, using an insurance mandate system.[26] | Insurance Mandate[26] | United States |
| 2015 | Policy | All Qatari citizens and expatriates are expected to be covered by national health insurance.[14] | Qatar | |
| 2016 | Policy | Argentina establishes universal healthcare.[7] | Argentina |
Numerical and visual data
Google Scholar
The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of November 6, 2021.
| Year | "universal health care" |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 11 |
| 1975 | 21 |
| 1980 | 17 |
| 1985 | 26 |
| 1990 | 149 |
| 1995 | 493 |
| 2000 | 740 |
| 2005 | 1,160 |
| 2010 | 2,530 |
| 2015 | 4,100 |
| 2020 | 5,090 |
Google Trends
The chart below shows Google Trends data for Universal healthcare (Search term), from January 2004 to April 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.[27]
Google Ngram Viewer
The chart below shows Google Ngram Viewer data for Universal healthcare, from 1980 to 2019.[28]
Wikipedia Views
The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article Universal healthcare, from July 2015 to March 2021.[29]
Meta information on the timeline
How the timeline was built
The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.
Funding information for this timeline is available.
What the timeline is still missing
Timeline update strategy
See also
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Historical Foundation of Universal Healthcare". healthcarereformmagazine.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 "UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AND TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DIFFUSION PATTERNS" (PDF). utwente.nl. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 "Universal Coverage Is Not "Single Payer" Healthcare". forbes.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ "Bismarck and Beyond: the Beginnings of Social Health Insurance in Germany". wordpress.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ Leichter, Howard M. (1979). A comparative approach to policy analysis: health care policy in four nations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-521-22648-1.
The Sickness Insurance Law (1883). Eligibility. The Sickness Insurance Law came into effect in December 1884. It provided for compulsory participation by all industrial wage earners (i.e., manual laborers) in factories, ironworks, mines, shipbuilding yards, and similar workplaces.
- ↑ Hennock, Ernest Peter (2007). The origin of the welfare state in England and Germany, 1850–1914: social policies compared. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-521-59212-3.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 7.33 7.34 7.35 7.36 7.37 7.38 7.39 7.40 "Countries With Universal Health Care". worldatlas.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ "Social Security in Japan 2014". ipss.go.jp. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ↑ Kitchen, Martin. The Third Reich: Charisma and Community. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ Two Centuries of Solidarity: German, Belgian, and Dutch Social Health Care Insurance 1770-2008 (Karel-Peter Companje, Karel Veraghtert, Brigitte Widdershoven ed.). Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ "69 years ago, a president pitches his idea for national health care". pbs.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ "National Health Service Act 1946". health.org.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ Pharmaceutical Pricing, Reimbursement, and Prescribing in the United Kingdom. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Joseph, Suad. "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WOMEN AND ISLAMIC CULTURES". ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 "Where in the world can you get universal health care?". cnn.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "HEALTH CARE IN VIETNAM". factsanddetails.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ Shafrin, Jason. "The Development of Universal Health Care in Sweden". healthcare-economist.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ "Give Canada Universal Drug Coverage!". change.org. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ↑ "Netherlands Health system review" (PDF). who.int. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Rodwin, Victor G. "The Health Care System Under French National Health Insurance: Lessons for Health Reform in the United States". PMC 1447687
. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ "Brazil and its Struggle to Universal Healthcare". clarku.edu. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Universal Healthcare on the rise in Latin America". worldbank.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "Universal health insurance coverage for 1.3 billion people: What accounts for China's success?". sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ "Peru: Universal Health Insurance". loc.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ "Mexico achieves universal health coverage, enrolls 52.6 million people in less than a decade". harvard.edu. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 "List of Countries with Universal Healthcare". wordpress.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ↑ "Universal healthcare". Google Trends. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ↑ "Universal healthcare". books.google.com. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- ↑ "Universal healthcare". wikipediaviews.org. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
