Rule of Law Across the World

Rule of Law Across the World Rule of law, in general, states that no one is above the law. Even if you are the highest ranking official in your country or you are at the bottom echelon of individuals the law will always be equal to all. (LexisNexis, 2014) New Zealand and Canada both incorporate the rule of law in their respective government which is good because it is important that the people, whether rich or poor, can gain equal rights to laws especially in health care since health is the most important aspect in our lives that should be taken care of. According to University of California San Francisco Global Health Sciences (2014), in the past decade, there has been an increased interest in public-private partnership relating to healthcare across the world. This is of good news to the public since this kind of partnership has a long-term effect between a nation’s government and a private sector which helps aid in the welfare of the public and for this be incorporated in the health sector is very helpful. Health is the most important thing to be taken care of and for the government to make a move like this would benefit not only the rich but also those who cannot afford healthcare. On one hand, according to Barrows, MacDonald, Supapol, Dalton-Jez, Harvey-Rioux (2012) who conducted a case study on public-private partnership in Canadian health care, Canada’s healthcare system is primarily a public programme but there are also aspects of care that are delivered privately. This system of theirs has become a problem and a burden at the same time for the government to handle since provincial budgets are at a high in terms of healthcare demands. This prompted the country to adapt the public-private partnership method so as to be able to meet the healthcare demands and to be able to continue their primary goal of the healthcare system which is of the public. On the other hand, New Zealand does not present any public-private partnership with regards to their healthcare system but according to the Medical Council of New Zealand (2011), it has both a public and private working healthcare system which offers high quality of care. The public system is free to all New Zealanders and individuals who are on a work permit visa that is valid for two or more years while the private system offers access to all private facilities for treatment of immediate and non-immediate health conditions. The public system is government funded and works as a community-based model while the private system offers specialist services and primary care at private hospitals. One thing that pans out in New Zealand’s healthcare system is the health insurance they provide. Even though you are not a citizen of the country and you are only here for a vacation or perhaps study purposes, the individual can still be or will be covered by the government’s personal injury scheme insurance known as ACC. The New Zealand judiciary system in itself is independent and has integrity, as stated by the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary’s independence is an important principle to the country’s constitution which leads to freedom from political interference and that members of the House of Representatives cannot criticise a judge. More or less Canada’s judiciary system shows similarities with that of New Zealand’s since it is also independent and shows integrity, as per Forsey (2012), the systems’ independence goes a hundred years back. A judge who makes a decision that the government does not agree with cannot touch him or her. Judiciary independence in Canada is important because the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and defines the limits of the federal and provincial powers. A system being independent and shows integrity can mean a lot to a country because it entails fairness to all. There will be no abuse and bias in the law and in my educated opinion, this system works well in a healthcare standpoint. With regards to health and security, New Zealand health security to the people is presented in the form of the Social Security Act of 1964 which provides a wide range of medical benefits whether you are an individual who can afford healthcare or not. This act provides a right to free treatment and relief. (McLintock, 2009) In Canada, they have this program called Health Canada which was established to help improve each Canadians health. This program is also an administrator of the Canada Health Act. This program also collaborates with the Privacy Act that gives a person the right to access information about themselves with limited exceptions. This protects an individual’s privacy with regards to health. (Health Canada, 2011) Human rights observed both in New Zealand and Canada are more or less having the same thought. Both countries are giving all their respective citizens equal rights and compensation regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, and disability. (Justice Laws Website, 2014) In this case discrimination is unlawful and unacceptable. (Human Rights Commission, 2008-2014) Although New Zealand is more diverse than Canada it is still evident that the top priority of both countries is equality. It is important in healthcare that human rights are observed because regardless of where we are from or who we are, we are all human beings. Every nation needs financial assistance or funding, especially in health care, to take care of their people. New Zealand and Canada presents a health care system that takes care of their people by means of health programs that benefit them without getting a single penny from their pockets. Allocated budget for a country depends on the population and the government’s involvement. In 2012/2013 financial year, New Zealand has a $14.65 million allocated budget for health but they the core Crown health spending for the financial year is around $14.5 million. There is also a forecast that the health spending will reach $14.95 million during the 2013/2014 financial year. (The Treasury, 2013) According to Scoop (2013), independent news, the 2013 health budget in New Zealand received the largest increase making available $1.6 billion for health over four years which has an average of $352 million of funds per year. C. COMPETITION Meanwhile, Chai of Global News (2013) reported that Canada will acquire a bill of $211 billion by the end of 2013 on health care alone. The Canadian Institute for Health Information broke down the amount to around $5,988 per individual in health care costs. The amount is not staggering compared to the past decade since for the year 2013 it is only a 2.6 per cent increase in health care spending while the past decade recorded a seven per cent increase per year in health care expense. Although health expense has been increasing in Canada every year, it has toned down a bit for the year 2013 as to the previous years. To furthermore break down on where the amount was spent, 30 per cent was spent on hospitals, 16 per cent was spent on medications and 15 per cent was spent on physicians. Majority, around 70 per cent, of health care spending in Canada is covered by the provincial government. A report by May (2014) from the National Post stated that the public servants’ benefits, to mention sick leaves, will be cut off in order to save billions for the 2014 budget. VI. REFERENCE LIST/BIBLIOGRAPHY Barrows, MacDonald, et al. (2012), â€Å"Public-private partnerships in Canadian health care: A case study of the Brampton Civic Hospital†, OECD Journal on Budgeting, Vol. 12/1, p. 3. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/PPP%20Canadian%20healthcare.pdf Chai, C. (29/10/2013). Global News; By the numbers: How much did Canada spend on health care in 2013? Retrieved from http://globalnews.ca/news/932105/by-the-numbers-how-much-did-canada-spend-on-health-care-in-2013/ Forsey, E. (2012). Parliament of Canada: How Canadians Govern Themselves Chapter 5 (5.2). Retrieved from http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/parliament/senatoreugeneforsey/book/chapter_5-e.html Health Canada. (2011). Health Canada Privacy Act Annual Report 2010-2011. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/pubs/_atip-aiprp/2011priv-prot/index-eng.php Human Rights Commission. (2008-2014). Human Rights Act. Retrieved from http://www.hrc.co.nz/human-rights-environment/human-rights-legislation/human-rights-act/ Justice Laws Website. (28/03/2014). Canadian Human Rights Act. Retrieved from http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/page-1.html#h-1 LexisNexis. (2014). Rule of Law. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.ca/en-ca/about-us/rule-of-law.page May, C. (11/02/2014). National Post: Canada budget 2014 looks to slash public servant’s benefits in effort to save billions. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/11/canada-budget-2014-looks-to-slash-public-servants-benefits-in-effort-to-save-billions/ McLintock, A. (updated 22/04/2009). The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Health Benefits. Originally published in 1966. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/social-security/page-6 Medical Council of New Zealand. (2011). Public and Private Health Systems. Retrieved from https://www.mcnz.org.nz/alpinfo/public-and-private-health-systems Ministry of Justice. The New Zealand Legal System. Retrieved from http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/global-publications/t/the-new-zealand-legal-system Scoop Independent News. (16/05/2013). Health receives the largest Budget increase. Retrieved from http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1305/S00296/health-receives-the-largest-budget-increase.htm The Treasury. (07/10/2013). Health: Funding. Retrieved from http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/expenditure/health University of California, San Francisco, Global Health Sciences. (2014). The Global Health Groups: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Retrieved from http://globalhealthsciences.ucsf.edu/global-health-group/private-sector-healthcare-initiative-pshi/research/public-private-partnerships