Health systems are extremely complex and require significant resources. Furthermore, providing health coverage to all citizens can be difficult for many countries. Different models and theories on how to best provide healthcare abound around the world, and only the most developed countries have adequate resources to truly provide universal coverage for their citizens. Looking at various systems around the world and how they came into being provides useful comparisons and illuminates how different countries have responded to very similar needs of their citizens and how to mitigate the limitations and management opportunities offered in the diversity of these systems (Johnson & Stoskopf , 2010). This paper analyzes different healthcare systems around the world, focusing specifically on Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and compares how these systems differ from those in the United States. Is universal coverage the “Gold Standard”? Universal single-payer healthcare systems were introduced by several countries around the world after World War II and sought to ensure that all individuals received the care they needed. While a system that provides universal care without leaving citizens uninsured or underinsured is attractive, the realities are sometimes at stark odds when costs are controlled at the expense of access to care. Furthermore, “single-payer systems have no built-in incentives to control costs. The great equalizer – market competition – is not present” (Litow, 2007, p. 18) and therefore universal healthcare systems cannot be considered the reference point – or the “gold standard” – against which to measure the success of other systems. Further examination of the experiences of countries with national health systems “s...... middle of paper ......ttp://www.amsa.org/programs/barriers/barriers.htmlJohnson, J. & Stoskopf, C. (2008). Comparative health systems: Global perspectives for the 21st century. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.Lauridsen, S.R., Norup, M.S., & Rossel, P.H. (2007). The secret art of managing health spending: investigating the rationing and autonomy implicit in public health systems. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33(12), 704-707. doi:10.1136/jme.2006.018523Litow, M. E. (2007). Addressing the fear factor: Unequal coverage/access to universal healthcare. Benefits Quarterly, 23(3), 17-21.McLaughlin, C. & McLaughlin, C. (2008). Health policy analysis: an interdisciplinary approach. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.Petrou, S., & Wolstenholme, J. (2000). A review of alternative approaches to health resource allocation. Pharmacoeconomics, 18(1), 33-43.