Table 2

Comparison of features of the health financing systems of the USA, UK and Australia³⁵

Features of health financing	USA	Australia	UK
% GDP on health expenditure	12.9%	8.6%	6.8%
% public v private	44.8%	70%	83%
Insurance payment mechanisms	Employer related insurance	Private insurance with tax rebates; universal tax payments	Universal tax based insurance scheme
Hospitals/networks payment mechanisms	Volume related payments	Global budget and some volume related	Global budgets through areas with performance pay
Practising medical practitioners per 1000 population (late 1990s)	2.7	2.5	1.8
Community physicians/GPs payment mechanisms	Through private insurance: fee for service or sessional with incentives	National fee for service with some practice related payments	Capitation and practice payments with incentives
Nurses and allied health payment mechanisms	Through insurance cover mainly with safety net	Through public hospitals and specific programs; otherwise private payments	Through public hospitals and GPs
% Total health expenditure on pharmaceuticals	10.1%	11.4%	16.3%
Pharmaceuticals payment mechanisms	Through private insurance	Public subsidy on basis of cost effectiveness with co-payments	Mainly publicly subsidised