I have seen a meme several times which claims numerous nations have universal health care while the USA does not- but it begs the question- define “Universal Health Care”!

I assume that the meme disseminators mean a Medicare for All single payer in which the government pays the cost of health care services and it is financed by taxes and citizens have no out of pocket expense.

Unfortunately, upon even a cursory examination the meme fails.

Norway, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Denmark appear to have just such systems - paid for with taxes, no out of pocket costs to the patients.

But looking at five other countries, the meme breaks down.

Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland- all have mandatory Insurance requirements similar to the Obamacare. Citizens are required to PAY for insurance. Switzerland has government-appointed healthcare providers and requires all to offer the same level of health coverage and many services are covered by insurance premiums. This is similar to Obamacare which required all policies to have the same coverage. But in NO way are these countries providing “universal coverage” in the same manner Medicare for All. Their system is more like ours though they may have stronger protections against bankruptcies and perhaps better cost controls.

In Japan, Insurance is mandatory and paid for by citizens who pay 30% of costs of care out of pocket. BUT- Costs strictly regulated by the govt which annually publishes a “cost book” which tells medical providers that the maximum they can charge for a whole range of procedures.