Every society organizes, finances, and delivers health
services differently. Health care organizations attempt to
provide this essential human good within the limits created by available resources, competing goods, and reigning
political perspectives. Comparing one health care system
with another is difficult because the very definition of
health care may differ considerably from one culture to
the next. Health care in some cultures like our own, may
be synonymous with curing particular illnesses. In other
cultures, health care may mean prevention rather than
curing of illness. Judging equality and inequality cannot
be separated from all kinds of background metaphors and
socio-cultural beliefs.