Even as Americans debate whether to scrap President Obamas healthcare law and its promise of guaranteed health coverage, many far less affluent nations are moving in the opposite direction \u2014 to provide medical insurance to all citizens.<\/p>\n
China, after years of underfunding healthcare, is on track to complete a three-year, $124-billion initiative projected to cover more than 90% of the nations residents.<\/p>\n
Mexico, which a decade ago covered less than half its population, just completed an eight-year drive for universal coverage that has dramatically expanded Mexicans access to life-saving treatments for diseases such as leukemia and breast cancer.<\/p>\n
In Thailand, where the gross domestic product per person is a fifth of Americas, just 1% of the population lacks health insurance. And in sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda and Ghana \u2014 two of the worlds poorest nations \u2014 are working to create networks of insurance plans to cover their citizens.<\/p>\n
“This is truly a global movement,” said Dr. Julio Frenk, a former health minister in Mexico and dean of the Harvard School of Public Health. “As countries advance, they are realizing that creating universal healthcare systems is a necessity for long-term economic development.”<\/p>\n
Many countries are still struggling to improve the quality of their medical care. And making healthcare affordable remains a challenge for most countries, as it does for the U.S., where about 15% of the population lacks coverage.<\/p>\n
But the international drive to provide healthcare for everyone is increasingly leaving America behind.<\/p>\n