What is the Universal Health care like in France?

Question

What is the Universal Health care like in France?

Answer 1

it's better than the health care in the USA

Answer 2

From stuff I've read in UK newspapers recently - pretty good.

Answer 3

They have good health care and very it's very inexpensive. However, often the French don't take advantage of this great blessing.

As an American, I could walk into any hospital if I needed to and receive help. I was charged the same as the French would be charged. Now, if I had a major operation I'm sure this might change a little.

Also, I meant many Europeans, even Americans/Canadians living in France for a short amount of time just to take advantage of the cheap health care.

Answer 4

It is one of the better systems of socialized medicine. It is essentially a single payer plan.

Like all such plans it has certain types of problems. the first is, of course, that it is expensive. Several people here have said it is "free." This betrays the economic deception of politics. . What they mean is that the patient does not pay directly. Instead they pay by being taxed.

The existence of such a plan is one of the principle reasons that a single person in France may pay more than 50% of his total income in taxes. Recall that in the United States, 40% of the population pays no Federal income tax at all and that the average tax burden on a single person is about 20%.

The high rate of taxation is one of the priciple reasons why unemployment in France is more than twice that in the United States and why a French citzen has far less disposbile income than an American.

One must choose what one wants, the freedom to make choices (including the choice made by many Americans not to buy health insurance so they can have a big screen TV and a new car) or the security that comes from having the government effectively force you to make wise choices. You can't have both.

The fact is that health care in the United States is better than anyplace else in the world. However, the fact also is that its the most expensive and, because it isn't run by the government,  many Americans foolishly choose to spend their larger incomes on things other than health insurance.

When they find they need healthcare, those who have chosen the car or the new TV rather than paying insurance premiums then demand that those of us who have been frugal and acted wisely be punished to pay for their foolishness.

Answer 5

Before reading further below, it's interesting to know that the deficit of our national health system is phenomenal !

Universal health care  (CMU >  couverture  maladie universelle) is a state in which all residents of a geographic or political region have access to most types of health care.

Universal health care is provided in most developed countries, and many developing countries across the globe. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom was the world's first universal health care system provided by government. It was established in 1948. The most comprehensive today is in France, and the second most is in Italy.

Other examples are Medicare in Australia, established in the 1970s, and by the same name Medicare in Canada, established between 1966 and 1984.

Universal health care contrasts to the systems like health care in the United States or South Africa, though South Africa is one of the many countries attempting health care reform.

Some government health care systems allow private practitioners to provide services, and some do not.

In the U.K., doctors are allowed to provide services outside the government system; in Canada, some services are permitted and some are not.

THE FRENCH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

The French healthcare system has been in place and has continued to evolve for more than one hundred years, and was classified the best health system in the world by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June 2000.

It permits all French citizens access to treatment and to the latest discoveries in medical research.

The success of the French health system is evidenced in the general health of the French population.

Their life expectancy increases more than three months each year, and French women have the second highest life expectancy rate in the world.

The Healthcare System and its Users:

The French government provides a number of diverse and comprehensive healthcare rights. For more than 96 percent of the population, medical care is either entirely free or is reimbursed 100 percent.

The French also have the right to choose among healthcare providers, regardless of their income level.

For example, they can consult a variety of doctors and specialists or choose a public, private, university or general hospital.

Moreover, the waiting lists for surgeries found in other government supported healthcare systems do not exist in France.

In France, health insurance is a branch of the Social Security system. It is funded by workers salaries (60 percent of the fund), by indirect taxes on alcohol and tobacco and by direct contribution paid by all revenue proportional to income, including retirement pensions and capital revenues. On the surface, it appears that health insurance reimburses medical care providers less in France than in other European countries. However, more than 80 percent of French people have supplemental insurance, often provided by their employers. The poorest have free universal healthcare, (CMU) which is financed by taxes. Additionally, the treatment costs for those who suffer from long-term illnesses are completely reimbursed.

In July 2001, the government passed a law allowing the healthcare system to provide additional assistance to families who need help with daily tasks. On March 4, 2002, the government passed another law, establishing compensation for all medical-related accidents whether fault is found or not. These new rights were added to other long established rights, such as compensation payments in the case of pregnancy or disease prevention, medical care for workers and students, family planning, and systematic screening of certain diseases.

Organization of the Healthcare System:

Since 1996, the government has presented a law to parliament every year in order to finance social security. This document delineates the budget for next year's national expenditures on health insurance. It additionally outlines goals to be achieved by the healthcare system during that year. However, these goals are broadly drawn as the actual healthcare budget varies according to revenue earned through taxes each year.

The government provides health insurance to three major groups of the population: salaried workers and their families, farmers, and artists and business professionals. Within each of these three groups, expenditures are divided by region and by type. Types of expenditures include general practitioners, fees, specialists fees, medical prescriptions, public hospitals, private clinics, nursing professionals and sanitary transportation.

The state exercises its trusteeship through central, regional and departmental services. There are two large organizations that work under the Ministry of Health: General Health Management and Hospital and Healthcare Management.

Under the direction of these two large organizations are numerous health care facilities and agencies.

Doctors and Health Professionals:

Since the end of the 1960s, the number of doctors increased from 60,000 to more than 185,000 at the beginning of the 21st century. There are three doctors for every 1,000 habitants, which is an average ratio when compared to other Western countries (Great Britain 3:1800, USA 3:2700, Germany 3:3400 and Italy 3:5900). The number of women doctors in France is growing. More than 40 percent of practicing doctors are women and more than 50 percent of today's medical students are female.

Hospitals and Clinics:

The Medical care establishment is made up of three types of institutions: public hospitals, private clinics and not-for-profit healthcare.

One thousand and thirty-two hospitals fall under the public hospital statute. Regional, university, local and general hospitals are included in this category and can trace their history back to the first era of Christianity. Public hospitals include a diverse group of institutions. For example, the Public Assistance Hospital of Paris employs over 80,000 people while in comparison the smallest local hospital employs less than 300. The Public Assistance Hospital of Paris is the most important and largest group of public hospitals. Created after the French Revolution, it became a hospital organization for the poor and for those involved in work related accidents in 1941. Today, this establishment is a complex organization that is responsible for a high standard of care, medical technology and research.

In all hospitals, doctors, biologists, and dentists are all paid as hospital practitioners. Advancement in the medical field is by seniority. Under the Title IV statute of the Civil Service, there is a nation-wide ranking system of hospital practitioners.

Since 1985, each public hospital has been financed primarily (91%) by endowment funding that is paid for by health insurance funds. Calculated by bases from previous years, these endowments are developed each year by a national rate manager. In effect, through the Medical Care Program of Information Systems, it is possible to calculate identical activities, relative productivity of each establishment and, in principle, adjust endowments.

The national rate is calculated according to macroeconomic factors (inflation, growth, public deficit), politics (research of social peace in establishments) and, very rarely, medical considerations (financing of new technologies).

Hospitals are all under the same regulations.

For instance, the Ministry of Health nominates the heads of all hospital services.

Private clinics have quite a different history from public hospitals. They were started by surgeons and obstetricians and eventually evolved into private hospitals. A 1991 law requires all doctors in private clinics to share medical files with their colleagues and to create a Medical Care Commission to form evaluation procedures.

Another sector of the French healthcare system consists of not-for-profit private hospitals. These hospitals were originally denominational and currently make up 14% of the inpatient services among French Medical Care Institutions.

They are financed through endowments like public hospitals, but have the right to privacy like private clinics. The cooperation between the public and private sector in the French healthcare system is a positive feature that allows citizens to avoid waiting lists for surgeries, which are often associated with socialized medicine. Indeed, private medical care in France is particularly active in treating more than 50% of surgeries and more than 60% of cancer cases. This unique combination of government financed medical care and private medical services produces a health care system that is open to all and provides the latest in medical technology and treatment.

Distribution of Healthcare Facilities

3,171 healthcare establishments offer 4,857,698 hospital beds for long-term care and 45,727 beds for short-term care.

# 1,032 public healthcare facilities (315,687 beds)

# 2,139 private for profit and not-for-profit healthcare facilities (170,382 beds)

Source: Ministry of Health

Principle Public Health Agencies

# National Institute of Health: created in 1998 and monitors public health. Also alerts the public to emerging health risks and takes appropriate action to guard against them.

# French Agency of Health Safety of Health Products: created in 1998 and has a mission of guaranteed independence, scientific competency and study of administrative efficiency. Additionally does research on therapeutic properties, usage of medicines and on health related products. Also participates in the application of laws and rules to the different commercial processes of health and cosmetic related processes.  French Agency of Food Health Safety: created in 1998 and in charge of evaluating health and nutritional risks present in food for humans and animals.

Agency of Environmental Health Safety: created in 2000 and in charge of coordinating expertise on the risks to the environment.

# French Institute of Blood: a public establishment of the state that succeeded the Blood Agency in 1992. Oversees the need of blood, guarantees a safe system of blood transfusion within the French healthcare system and works towards adapting transfusion systems according to current research in this area.

# French Institute of Transplants: established in 1994; coordinates transplant-related activities and involved in international transplant exchanges. Also collects information necessary to evaluate the quality of immunology pairing and gives opinions on procedures and activities relevant to the transplant process.