Health care reform in South Africa: Comparisons with the United States

This article compares the health care systems of the United States and South Africa in an effort to judge the relevance of policy. Both countries have relatively poor measures of health status for their levels of economic development and both have large and advanced private sectors. These similarities are associated with rapidly rising costs and large, underserved populations. It is also important to recognise the significant differences between the United States and South Africa, and especially the fact that South Africa is less developed and has fewer resources. This article provides a descriptive comparison of the health systems of the two countries, emphasising the role of managed care in the private sector. South Africa's large private sector is poised to absorb management technology pioneered in the United States.

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Respectively Assistant Professor, Graduate Program in Hospital and Health Administration, and Postgraduate Student, College of Medicine, both of the University of Iowa, Iowa City.