The USA

The Health Care System in the USA is organized in three levels: family doctor, the medical institution or hospital and the US Public Health Service.

A family or private doctor gives his patients regular examinations and inoculations. In case when professional service and care is needed the family doctor arranges for the specialist or a hospital for his patients. The family doctor receives pay directly from the patient. Most physicians have private practice.

But many Americans have no family doctor and they come directly to the hospitals for their medical needs. There are government-financed and private hospitals. The patients are admitted to hospitals or clinics staffed by consulting physicians, residents, interns and highly skilled nurses.

Most hospitals have at least the following major medical departments or units: surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and general medicine. Emergency units are very special in the hospitals. Emergency patients acquire immediate attention.

The cost of medical care in the USA is very high. Most of the population (75%) have their health insurance, life insurance, disability protection and retirement benefits at their place of employment.

The great cost of medical care in the country and a great number of people who couldn’t pay for it had forced the federal government to develop two programs – Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid is a federal-state program providing free medical care for the poor, the blind, disabled and dependent children. Medicare is a federal program providing partially free medical care for the elderly people over 65 at the expense of health insurance and the government.