My paper is comparing the healthcare system in France to the healthcare system we have in the United States. We need to look at France’s healthcare and other countries with universal healthcare and ask ourselves “Is it sustainable?” Is it feasible?” “Will it provide for those who don’t have insurance and help those that do?” The results show universal healthcare is usable, but there have to be guidelines, who it covers, what it covers, and what improvements need to be made to make it work. When other countries have been using universal healthcare for 60 + years, it shows there is hope for it in this country too. Healthcare is a growing problem, but it might become more of one if taxes are raised to cover the cost. France’s NHS system is not costly compared to the United States. The U.S. thinks when universal healthcare goes into effect; we will give up our choice in doctors, hospitals, and care facilities. The French agree with the United States in their distaste for restrictions on patient choice and insist on autonomous private practitioners. In France, there are no waiting lists for elective procedures and no need for pre-authorization. There are no uninsured in France. No one goes broke for health costs. The system is designed where the 3% to 5% of the sickest are exempt from co-payments and have no deductibles. Out of the people with one of the 30 long term and expensive illnesses (diabetes, mental illness, cancer…), the government covers 100% of health costs including surgeries, therapies, and drugs. They have a very unusual guarantee from the government. All cancer patients are able to get any drug, from experimental and still being tested to the most expensive, for free. The French healthcare service is costly, but is the best in the world and offers the greatest choice in general practitioners and specialists.
In the movie SICKO, Moore describes healthcare in other countries as the way to go. He gives several fine points on the way France’s