Global Courant
As the United States struggles toward a universal health care system, many have seen the Canadian health care system as a model. Only a few have looked at France. That is a mistake for at least 2 reasons.
First, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), France has the best healthcare system in the world. It has been widely reported that the WHO has found the French system to be number 1, while the Canadian system is number 30 and the US is number 37.
It should be noted here that the WHO ranking actually contains several rankings and the numbers generally quoted are the ranking based on the measure that the WHO calls the OP ranking. OP would measure “overall performance”, adjusted to reflect a country’s performance based on how well it theoretically could have performed. When reporting the ranking of 1 for France, 30 for Canada and 37 for the United States, the OP ranking is used.
Why did the French system do so well in the WHO rankings? The French system excels in 4 areas:
- It provides universal coverage
- It has responsive caregivers
- Patients have freedom of choice
- The health and longevity of the population
Secondly, we should take a closer look at the French system because it is more similar to the American system than to the Canadian or British system. Many Americans assume that the French system is the same as the system in Great Britain. Nothing could be further from the truth or more insulting to the French.
Like the United States, the French system relies on both private and government insurance. Also, just like in America, people generally get their insurance through their employer. What is different is that everyone in France has health insurance. Every legal resident of France has access to health care according to the so-called universal coverage law la Couverture maladie universelle.
Under the French system, health insurance is a branch of social security or the Social Security. The system is mainly financed by taxing workers’ wages. An employee in France pays about 20% of his salary every year Social Security. These taxes represent about 60% of the cost of health insurance.
The balance of funding comes from the self-employed, who pay more than salaried employees, and from indirect taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Finally, additional assessments are levied on other income, both direct and indirect.
The French share the same aversion to restrictions on patient choice as the Americans. The French system relies on autonomous private practitioners rather than a UK national health service. The French are very dismissive of the British system they call “socialized medicine.” Virtually all doctors in France participate in the country’s public health insurance, Social Security.
Perhaps it’s time we took a closer look at France’s ideas about health care reform.
France has the best health care system in the world
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