The unique US health care market In the U.S.,patients sometimes pay out of pocket for routine health care,like flu shots and health check ups. In many other countries,including Canada and the United Kingdom,patients almost never pay out of pocket when they receive basic health care. In the U.S.,some people are not eligible for government insurance and cannot afford(or do not want)to buy private insurance. In almost all developed countries,uninsurance is extremely rare or even nonexistent.Insurance is either provided for free by the government,or provided by a mix of public and private insurers. Bhattacharya,Hyde and Tu-HealthEconomicsBhattacharya, Hyde and Tu – Health Economics The unique US health care market  In the U.S., patients sometimes pay out of pocket for routine health care, like flu shots and health check ups.  In many other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, patients almost never pay out of pocket when they receive basic health care.  In the U.S., some people are not eligible for government insurance and cannot afford (or do not want) to buy private insurance.  In almost all developed countries, uninsurance is extremely rare or even nonexistent. Insurance is either provided for free by the government, or provided by a mix of public and private insurers