US: Political System - National Health Systems

“The United States has a federal system of government, with substantial authority delegated to its regional governments – the 50 states – and a historical reluctance regarding central planning or control either at federal or state level.”

Source: Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, Saltman RB, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2013; 15(3): 1– 431.
http://www.euro.who.int/en/about-us/partners/observatory/publications/health-system-reviews-hits/full-list-of-country-hits
http://www.euro.who.int/en/about-us/partners/observatory/publications/health-system-reviews-hits/full-list-of-country-hits/united-states-of-america-hit-2013

“The United States is a federal constitutional democracy, with decision-making authority divided between the federal government and the state governments. It includes 50 states; the District of Columbia, which is home to the seat of the federal government in Washington, DC; and several territories including Puerto Rico, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands. Power is shared among three branches of government: the executive, legislative and judicial.

“The President of the United States is elected every four years and is limited to two four-year terms. Rather than elections being based on popular vote, the United States uses the “Electoral College”. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia, has the same number of representatives in the Electoral College as the total number of representatives in Congress that they are assigned. With a few recent exceptions, the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in a state is given all the state’s vote in the Electoral College. As a result, occasionally the candidate who receives a plurality of the national popular vote does not win the presidency. This has occurred four times – three in the nineteenth century and most recently, in 2000.

“The United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, comprises the Senate and the House of Representatives. The former contains two members per state (100 total) with a term of six years and the latter 435 members allotted to the states based on their populations, with a term of two years. The judicial branch of the federal government includes the Supreme Court, which has nine members who are appointed for life and various district (regional) and appeals courts. Each state has a popularly elected governor whose term, except in one state, is four years. Most states limit governors to two terms. All but one state have two elected legislative bodies.

“On a more local level, within states there are numerous county and city governments.”

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

Page last updated Dec. 12, 2020 by Doug McVay, Editor.