The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care is a New York Times bestseller from journalist T. R. Reid.

Reid visited all these countries personally and claims to have chosen them since they exemplify specific kinds of health-care system models.

Reid is critical of the United States for not being able to provide guaranteed health services to all its citizens as is done in virtually all developed countries.

At the same time all citizens (barring a rich minority in the case of Germany) are required to sign up for one or the other health insurance.

The government plays a central role in determining payments for various health services, thus keeping a decent control on cost.

The Canadian model has a single-payer system like Britain; however, the health care providers work mostly as private entities.