Comparisons of Health Insurance Systems in Developed Countries

Health insurance systems in developed countries vary in many dimensions. We develop a framework for discussing these dimensions and then use this framework to compare the health insurance systems of Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the US. These countries span a wide array of dimensions, including who in the system bears risk, what choices are allowed, how much health spending burdens are redistributed, sources of revenue, cost saving strategies, and use of specialized and secondary insurance.