There has been a lot of heat about health care and it’s efficiency in the US. From Bernie to Warren to Biden, the topic is numero uno in importance. Why? Well because our system is abysmal compared to other developed countries. 
Looking at this graph we spend almost 3X per person on health care than our friends across the pond. If we are paying a higher price we should receive better health care. If only that was true. If it was this argument would have ended much sooner. The fact is that we receive average or worse health care but pay the most. We have fewer doctors per person,MRI’s per person, than other developed countries according to NCBI.gov.The survivability of many procedures are also lower in the US. We even visit the doctor 3X less than Germany and 5X less than Japan, but pay more than them, according to the US National Institute of Health. The statistics are given by our government, criticizing themselves; That’s how you know the situation is dire. We all understand how the US health care system works but for a recap, let me explain. The US health care system is provided by many large organizations owned privately. 60% of hospitals are non-profit, 20% for profit and the rest is government owned. There are 3 main insurance sectors, private, medicare and medicaid. Medicare is eligible for all 65 and over and is administered by the national government. Medicaid is meant for the poor and is administered by the individual states and the national government. Medicaid and Medicare cost 9% of our gdp, the same percentage as the UK's NHS but that funds 90% of their population while we only provide insurance for 35%.
France is considered to have the best health care in the world and is a great model for a country like the US. They insure everybody in the country, even immigrants. There is a copay of 20% but the prices are negotiated so you may only pay 10-20 euros for the copay while the rest of the bill is incurred by the government. The US has a problem with accepting completely socialized health care, France provides a middle ground. Their system is a combination of the Bevridge model,completely run by the government and the Bismarck Model, government funded and tight control but made up of several non-profit private insurance groups. The French have not completely taken control of their health care as most doctors are private and 40% of their hospitals are privately run. Another factor that makes this type of government not completely Bevridge model is that they have several insurance funds instead of just one fund, so basically several insurance companies. They compete with each other and that stimulates growth.These funds are funded by taxpayers and companies.
The French also have a card called carte vitale which identifies you and allows your entire medical history to easily transfer over to different hospitals and doctors. That happens often in France as you get to pick any doctor and none of them can turn you down. The wait times in France is less than the wait time in the US as well which makes a good argument for this system. This system is expensive for global standards but compared to the US it is very cheap. France uses 11% of gdp while US uses 17%. Even though they are paying less their system is ranked better and has better results even with their chronic addiction to cigarettes. This system shows that universal health care can be done well and without a government run system, it provides something Americans are familiar with--choice in insurance funds-- and then provides something Americans can be pleasantly delighted about--complete freedom of choice of doctors.The inelasticity of healthcare makes it an industry better accomplished with government intervention. That is why the French healthcare system is so effective, it keeps the good of the private insurance,choice, and gives you the benefits of public insurance, choice of doctors and cheaper insurance. If the US implements a system like this, we would save about 1 trillion dollars every year, with that kind of money our debt
Works Cited
“Five Countries - Health Care Systems -- The Four Basic Models | Sick Around The World | FRONTLINE.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/models.html.“Health Care Reform: Learning From Other Major Health Care Systems | Princeton Public Health Review.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, pphr.princeton.edu/2017/12/02/unhealthy-health-care-a-cursory-overview-of-major-health-care-systems/.
“Health Care in France.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_France.
“Health Care in the United States.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States.
“How Does the U.S. Healthcare System Compare to Other Countries?” Peter G. Peterson Foundation, www.pgpf.org/blog/2019/07/how-does-the-us-healthcare-system-compare-to-other-countries.
MorabitoCM. “France's Health-Care System Was Ranked as the World's Best-Here's How It Compares with the US'.” CNBC, CNBC, 11 June 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/france-versus-the-united-states-how-the-two-nations-health-care-systems-compare.html.
This is actually really interesting. I've been considering living in Germany or Canada for a while now and it's crazy how much better health care is outside of the US in other developed countries. Why can't we just do what they do? And the fact that we have to pay for an ambulance (and that it's incredibly expensive) is ridiculous. I'd rather walk to the hospital with a collapsed lung than pay the fee to call an ambulance. In the UK, I've heard it's free to call an ambulance but sometimes it doesn't show up or it takes a while, which I find strange. It'd be interesting to just compare how the ambulance works in other countries.
ReplyDeleteViva La France! A lot of people say that France is dumb for having a health care system that insures all people even immigrants, but their system actually works! unlike our healthcare system which is ineffective at insuring everyone. I believe this is caused due to the lack of governmental intervention like you have said. From this article it seems like the government aren't showing interest in breaking these huge insurance companies that have huge control over this sector. This makes the competitiveness go down and they charge the hefty prices. I believe going in the middle ground for anything including this is probably the best; not one absolute is the best.
ReplyDeleteAgastya Asthana,
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about a great point Jival. In my time in the UK, healthcare for minors was free so a minor can visit you as many times as you would like and minors also got a priority over other cases. The only problem that the European healthcare has is that although cheap, you usually have to schedule about a month or two in advance because last minute appointments will usually give you a worse date. But if you do pay extra then you can advance that appointment sooner. Paying the extra, however, is still less amount of money spent on healthcare than the normal in the United States. People treat healthcare in the U.S. as if it is the best when in actually it is probably the same as most other countries, which is a point you bring up in your argument. Proving this to the government could help you lower the cost and help you invest that money into local businesses or into the stock market.
This was an interesting read! I like how you introduced France's system as a middle ground on this issue. Often, because tensions are so high, people tend to think that it is either American freedom and capitalism, or Swedish socialism with 50% taxes. We tend to only think in extremes. France, meanwhile, is doing just fine with a semi-competitive more affordable health care system. Your post was straightforward and honest, and highlighted how the American system appears even more broken when compared to other developed nations. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is something I’ve wondered about a lot. I’ve heard that free eye care is also included in French healthcare which has also been a problem in the US where it’s too expensive to get new glasses. So then my question is if the French healthcare system saves money for both the government and the people, then why hasn’t the US adapted it? Is it a sense of identity and pride where they don’t want transition to systems of European countries? Or is it that healthcare isn’t as high in priorities as other areas in the US? And does this also go hand in hand with the education system in different countries, where in the US we’re pay tens of thousands of dollars and in other European countries is significantly less.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read about, I never stopped to consider how better healthcare is in other countries, and how easy it would be to follow in their footsteps. This would be way better to implement instead of having the current flawed system. The fact that Americans visit the doctor 3x less than people in Germany and 5x less than people in Japan while paying more, lays down how bad the system really is. They even let immigrants in, which compared to the US, is instantly way better. A question would be, how long would it take for us to switch to a system, and if so, how difficult and time consuming would it be, and how much would it cost us?
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy how the health care in the U.S is very different from other countries. The countries outside u.s have a lot similar health while the u.s is different.
ReplyDeleteHealthcare is a necessity and it's been a very debated topic over the past few years. I found it very interesting how you integrated the methods used by France into your post. It allowed for a contrast showing how embarrassing the US healthcare system is. I also agree with how you mentioned government intervention is best for healthcare systems, because it is need, there should be no price competition. It's similar to college tuition. Going to college has grown into a social norm, which allows universities to raise tuition without any consequences. That's how the healthcare system would work without government intervention. The government needs to block out corporate greed.
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