A universal health care or universal health coverage (UHC) system is a healthcare system in which all citizens of a country have some level of health coverage. While often confused with single-payer healthcare (in which the government provides health coverage for all citizens), universal health coverage can be achieved through many different models, and only 13 of the OECD's 34 countries used single-payer models as of 2013. Countries may achieve coverage through the Beveridge model (as in the United Kingdom), in which the government provides healthcare directly; through a single public insurer contracting with private healthcare providers (as in Canada); through mandatory social insurance provided by non-governmental organizations (as in Germany); or through mandatory private insurance provided by for-profit companies (as in the Netherlands and Switzerland). Systems also differ substantially in which services are covered and what share of costs patients pay. The World Health Organization describes universal healthcare as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship, and Sustainable Development Goal 3 includes universal health coverage.
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![Universal health care: Total healthcare cost per person. Public and private spending. US dollars PPP. For example: $6,319 for Canada in 2022. $12,555 for the US in 2022.[45]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Average_annual_health_spending._US_dollars_%28PPP%29_per_person._OECD_countries_and_more.png/1280px-Average_annual_health_spending._US_dollars_%28PPP%29_per_person._OECD_countries_and_more.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail)

