When a N.Y. Times journalist’s husband felt chest pain during their stay in France, they went to the emergency room. Although it turned out to be pneumonia, the journalist generally lauds French health care system, despite some excessive bureaucracy.
- N.Y. Times: “For X-rays, an EKG, 10 hours in the emergency room, a doctor, a cardiologist, technicians, nurses, drugs and even the surly gatekeeper, we were required to pay $220. I might put up with a lot of ugly bureaucrats for that.”
How can these services be so cheap? Easy, it is funded by the French–and even American–taxpayers.
The French System is characterized by large premiums, paid for by taxpayers, a little out of pocket payments. Whole Foods, on the other hand, supports expanding the amount of money patients pay out of their own pocket. According to 20/20, Whole Foods advocates Health Savings Accounts for their employees.