Many advocates of healthcare reform point to the high level of spending on healthcare in the United Sates and the relatively poor health outcomes in the U.S. as compared to other countries.  While th

Many advocates of healthcare reform point to the high level of spending on healthcare in the United Sates and the relatively poor health outcomes in the U.S. as compared to other countries.  While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) greatly decreased the number of U.S. citizens without health insurance, the United States still stands more or less alone among wealthy industrialized democracies in this approach to healthcare.   

After reviewing all of the required resources for this discussion, address each of the following:

1. What groups are most likely to be uninsured in the United States?  Since the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, what are the most common reasons that people still lack health insurance?  
2. How does healthcare spending in the U.S. compare to other countries?  Describe how healthcare outcomes in the U.S. compare to other countries.  Based on the resources you reviewed, are healthcare spending and health outcomes related to one another?  In other words, does spending more on health care lead to better health outcomes (i.e. a healthier population) and vice versa?
3. Describe what universal health care is.  Describe the healthcare system in at least one country that guarantees universal health coverage to all of its citizens (you can find a list of such countries in the resources provided). 
4. How does a universal health care system compare to the system currently in place in the U.S.?  In your informed opinion, why is the U.S. one of the only wealthy industrialized democracies that does not have university healthcare coverage?
5. According to the Commonwealth Fund reports, how is the performance of the United States’ healthcare system related to equity?  Which social groups have the least access to quality healthcare?  Why?

Remember – since you only have one discussion per week in this class you must provide an initial post that is a minimum of 500 words in length. You will lose points for shorter posts.  

Also, be sure to support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references