ABSTRACT
Many of the most industrialized nations have grown by reforming their health systems in unique ways. The United Kingdom is one such industrialized nation that has undergone numerous reforms, including one particular reform in the early 2000s that suggests positive and negative health outcomes. Because the United States has recently introduced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which creates a single-payer system, it may be of importance to compare the new single-payer system of the United States to the longstanding U.K. health system and U.K.’s recent reform. This may guide the United States on how specific reforms in the United Kingdom have had strengths and weaknesses in implementation. In order to make such comparisons between the U.S. and U.K. health systems, especially postreform, it is important to
understand each health system under a historical context. Each country’s history shapes its objectives and health outcomes.
