Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Great Britain represents all that is good and bad with centralized, single-payer health care systems. Health care spending is fairly low (7.5% of GDP) and very equitable. Long wait lists for treatment, however are endemic and rationing pervades the system. Patients have little choice of provider and little access to specialists. Percent Insured. ~100% Funding.…
Greece has an employer-based health insurance system in which all Greek employers enroll their employees in one of the “social insurance funds.” Due to strict regulation by the Greek Ministry of Social Health and Cohesion, Greece in essence has a single payer system. For instance, the Ministry controls employee contribution rates, insurance benefit packages, and…
Portugal is similar to Norway in that it is a very centralized health care system. Despite the fact that Portugal ranks highly according to the WHO, there is widespread discontent with the Portuguese system. Most individuals in Portugal are insured by the state-run, single-payer National Health System. However, 25% of the population is insured through…
All Norwegians are insured by the National Insurance Scheme. This is a universal, tax-funded, single-payer health system. Compared to France, Italy, Spain and Japan, Norway has the most centralized system. Percent Insured. 100%. All Norwegian citizens and residents are covered. Funding. The National Insurance Scheme is funded by general tax revenues. There is no earmarked…
Japan has universal health insurance based around a mandatory, employment-based insurance. “The Employee Health Insurance Program requires all companies with 700 of more employees to provide workers with health insurance among some 1,800 ‘society-managed’ plans. Nearly 85% of these plans cover a single company…Most of the rest of the [health insurance plans] are industry-based.” Small…
The Spanish have one of the most centralized health care systems in the world. Patients have no choice of provider and there is almost no cost sharing. Like most centralized systems without cost-sharing, there are significant waiting times for procedures. This has resulted in a 2 tiered system where 12% of the population receives higher…
While France may have the highest rated health care system in the world, Italy is second according to the WHO. The Italian health care system is a decentralized version of the British NHS. Despite the high rankings by the WHO, Italians are dissatisfied with the quality of their care. Italians believe more patient choice will…
France is often seen by liberals as the ideal system. It has universal health care, with few waiting lists. France has the highest level of satisfaction with their health care among all European countries. How can this be? What is their secret? France provides a basic, universal health insurances through large occupation-based funds. The General…
Recently I came across an article by Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute title “The Grass is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World.” I figured that the article would be a highly biased piece of writing which would show that the U.S. healthcare system is great and the…
The PBS program Frontline has focusing its show on the topic “Sick Around the World.” The show airs on Tuesday, April 15 and may be of interest to Healthcare Economist readers. From the Frontline publicist: “To examine the question of universal health care coverage, FRONTLINE teams up with T.R. Reid, a veteran foreign correspondent for…