The U.S. is Not the Only Country Without Universal Healthcare
The Claim
The United States is the only country that does not have universal healthcare.
News posted on
Emerging story
In response to the launch of Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard rocket on July 21, a meme making fun of the rocket’s phallic shape while drawing attention to U.S. healthcare went viral. The meme features a map of the world with all of the countries greyed out other than the U.S., which is red.
The greyed-out countries are labeled “Countries with Universal healthcare” and the one red country is labeled as “Countries with rocket dicks in space.” The meme insinuates that the U.S. is the only country without universal healthcare.
Misbar’s Analysis
Our investigation found that the United States is not the only country without universal healthcare. However, it is the only country in the industrialized world that does not have some form of universal health coverage for its citizens. Other countries without universal healthcare include Iran, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan, Yemen, and many others.
Universal healthcare generally describes countries that give people access to necessary health services without extreme financial hardship. According to the WHO, half of the world’s population does not have access to the healthcare they need.
Healthcare systems can vary greatly from country to country. Variations of universal healthcare systems include single-payer, universal public insurance, and universal public-private insurance. The United States has a non-universal insurance system.
