Here, via True Cost, is a table showing how the 33 industrialized nations provide health care to their citizens.
Until Sunday, when the House passed the health-reform bill, only the United States did not provide, or even attempt to provide, health coverage for everyone.
Because of conservatives’ opposition to the public option, even after the law goes into effect this year, there will still be people who are not covered, but the United States is now well on its way to joining its allies and competitors in the modern world, where health care is not a privilege but a right.
True Cost Blog’s List of Countries with Universal Health Care
| Country | Start Date of Universal Health Care | System Type |
| Click links for more source material on each country’s health care system. | ||
| Norway | 1912 | Single Payer |
| New Zealand | 1938 | Two Tier |
| Japan | 1938 | Single Payer |
| Germany | 1941 | Insurance Mandate |
| Belgium | 1945 | Insurance Mandate |
| United Kingdom | 1948 | Single Payer |
| Kuwait | 1950 | Single Payer |
| Sweden | 1955 | Single Payer |
| Bahrain | 1957 | Single Payer |
| Brunei | 1958 | Single Payer |
| Canada | 1966 | Single Payer |
| Netherlands | 1966 | Two-Tier |
| Austria | 1967 | Insurance Mandate |
| United Arab Emirates | 1971 | Single Payer |
| Finland | 1972 | Single Payer |
| Slovenia | 1972 | Single Payer |
| Denmark | 1973 | Two-Tier |
| Luxembourg | 1973 | Insurance Mandate |
| France | 1974 | Two-Tier |
| Australia | 1975 | Two Tier |
| Ireland | 1977 | Two-Tier |
| Italy | 1978 | Single Payer |
| Portugal | 1979 | Single Payer |
| Cyprus | 1980 | Single Payer |
| Greece | 1983 | Insurance Mandate |
| Spain | 1986 | Single Payer |
| South Korea | 1988 | Insurance Mandate |
| Iceland | 1990 | Single Payer |
| Hong Kong | 1993 | Two-Tier |
| Singapore | 1993 | Two-Tier |
| Switzerland | 1994 | Insurance Mandate |
| Israel | 1995 | Two-Tier |
| United States | 2014 | Insurance Mandate |
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