France Healthcare System
France Healthcare System France has universal healthcare that provides coverage for everyone. It is paid for from different taxes and is regulated by the government.
Type of health care system French has national health insurance (NHI), which provides universal coverage (ensures that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.) The national health insurance is one of France’s social security system 's entitlement programs. The idea of universal coverage is based on the principal of solidarity—“the notion that there should be mutual aid and cooperation between the sick and the well, the active and the inactive, and that health insurance should be financed on the basis of ability to pay, not actuarial risk” (Rodwin, 2003). Coverage is mandatory and provided by non-competing statutory health insurance (SHI) funds. Insurance coverage comes through employment (for employees and their families), as a subsidy for unemployed and their families, from being a student or retired. People are assigned to a fund based on their occupation. Since the introduction of universal medical coverage (CMU) in 2000, France has increased coverage for the uninsured provided coverage for people not eligible for SHI (Commonwealth Fund, 2013). Illegal people who have applied for residency, people visiting France from other countries in Europe (European Union EU) are provided full coverage while visitors from non-EU countries are covered for emergencies only. Cost to the individual patient Employer and employee payroll taxes, personal income taxes, taxes on alcohol and tobacco and out-of-pocket payments (including coinsurance and co-pays) when people receive care, finance the NHI. These monies go to several quasi-public insurance funds (A company that is privately owned but is regulated by the government) (Business Dictionary, 2013). Employer and employee representatives control these funds. They
Type of health care system French has national health insurance (NHI), which provides universal coverage (ensures that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.) The national health insurance is one of France’s social security system 's entitlement programs. The idea of universal coverage is based on the principal of solidarity—“the notion that there should be mutual aid and cooperation between the sick and the well, the active and the inactive, and that health insurance should be financed on the basis of ability to pay, not actuarial risk” (Rodwin, 2003). Coverage is mandatory and provided by non-competing statutory health insurance (SHI) funds. Insurance coverage comes through employment (for employees and their families), as a subsidy for unemployed and their families, from being a student or retired. People are assigned to a fund based on their occupation. Since the introduction of universal medical coverage (CMU) in 2000, France has increased coverage for the uninsured provided coverage for people not eligible for SHI (Commonwealth Fund, 2013). Illegal people who have applied for residency, people visiting France from other countries in Europe (European Union EU) are provided full coverage while visitors from non-EU countries are covered for emergencies only. Cost to the individual patient Employer and employee payroll taxes, personal income taxes, taxes on alcohol and tobacco and out-of-pocket payments (including coinsurance and co-pays) when people receive care, finance the NHI. These monies go to several quasi-public insurance funds (A company that is privately owned but is regulated by the government) (Business Dictionary, 2013). Employer and employee representatives control these funds. They
References: About-France.com (2013). Health care in France - the French health service. Retrieved from http://about-france.com/health-care.htm Bloomberg (2013). France 's Health-Care System Is Going Broke - Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-03/frances-health-care-system-is-going-broke Brookings Institution (2013). Health care in France and the United States. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cusf/analysis/dutton.pdf Business Dictionary (2013). What is quasi-public corporation? definition and meaning. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quasi-public-corporation.html Commonwealth Fund (2013). The French Health Care System. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Topics/International-Health-Policy/Countries/France.aspx Rodwin, V. (2003). The Health Care System Under French National Health Insurance: Lessons for Health Reform in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 93(1), 33-37. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447687/ Shapiro, J. (2008, July 11). Health Care Lessons From France : NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92419273