The French healthcare system is best described as the synergism of national health insurance and the principles of la médecine libérale, a feature of the French healthcare system that embraces liberalistic views between patients and physicians. The merger of the latter to France’s health reform in Sécurité Sociale, France’s form of social security, and Statutory Health Insurance throughout the twentieth and twenty first century, created a health system fundamentally structured under Bismarckian ideas that parallels government controlled socialistic medicine tendencies. The basic philosophies that drive the French healthcare system stents from their ideal synthesis of solidarity, liberalism and pluralism (Rodwin, Le Pen 2259). These ideas create the framework in policy making allowing medicine to be practiced in an autonomous fashion and its regression from privatization in the competing markets.
The structural component of France’s healthcare policy and regulatory affairs represents a decentralized flow and administered at the regional, local, and municipality levels. Nationally, parliament reviews provisions regarding revenue, benefits and regulations and directs its initiatives to the Ministry of Health. This is proceeded to the National Council for Governance of Regional Health Agencies, which then disperses to various agencies at the regional level. Similar to the United States’ flow of power throughout government and its many agencies that track policy and directives, a myriad of agencies exist to allow transparency in health policy amongst the national and regional levels of France.
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and National Center for Health Stat...
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... cost containment. The convergence into state managed care shows extensive flexibility amongst patients and their “preferred doctor”. Although preferred doctors maintain their gate-keeping responsibilities, direct access is still granted to certain specialists- with children under 16 years of age having full exemption from the gate-keeping rule (Chevreul et al. 182).
The access to healthcare is comprehensive since French national health insurance grants direct access to providers. Roughly two-thirds of practicing health professionals are independent self-employed fee-for-service providers (Chevreul et al. 112). In addition the fee-for-service providers, healthcare is delivered through private, private-for-profit-hospitals, private-non-profit-hospitals, public hospitals and acute care hospitals that are financed through a Disease Related Group (DRG) payment system.
In this paper, there will be a comparative analysis to the United States (U.S.) healthcare system and Canadians healthcare system highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both.
During the study of various reforms that were proposed and denied, both the GOP and Democrats attempted to find a balance that would guarantee the success of their proposals. Years of research, growing ideologies, political views and disregard for the country's constitution sparked an array of alternatives to solve the country's healthcare spending. The expenditure of US healthcare dollars was mostly due to hospital reimbursements, which constitute to 30% (Longest & Darr, 2008). During the research for alternatives, the gr...
Newman, Alex. “Examining Healthcare: A Look Around the Globe at Nationalized Systems.” The New American. 15 Sep. 2008: 10. eLibrary. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
National health systems are assessed by the extent to which expenditure and actions in public health and medical care contributes to the crucial social goals of improving health, increasing access to quality healthcare, reducing health disparities, protecting citizens from penury due to medical e...
Makarenko, J. (2007, April 1). Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care: Findings and Recommendations | Mapleleafweb.com. Mapleleafweb.com | Canada's Premier Political Education Website!. Retrieved January 26, 2011, from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/romanow-commission-future-health-care-findings-and-recommendations
Healthcare systems are put in place so that they can meet and satisfy the healthcare needs of a people within a geographical area. They have the mandate to deliver healthcare services to the intended group or population and ensure fair...
Arguably, all three situations met by the end of the 20th century. The rise of managed care, the increase of health care costs, and the growing number of uninsured patients place economic and political pressures on individuals (and governments) to find a cost-containment resolution. Additionally, since the late 1970s, the medical profession has faced the dominating principle of patient independence as a challenge – first to medical paternalism and then extending even to the principle of beneficence. More so, the usage of the Internet and other global media has expanded the ability of patients to access an...
A country’s health care system refers to all the institutions, programs, personnel, procedures, and the resources that are used to meet the health needs of its population. Health care systems vary from one country to another, depending on government policies and the health needs of the population. Besides, health care programs are flexible in the sense that they are tailored to meet health needs as they arise. Among the stakeholders in the formulation of a country’s health care system are governments, religious groups, non-governmental organizations, charity organizations, trade/labor unions, and interested individuals (Duckett, 2008). These entities formulate, implement, evaluate, and reform health services according to the needs of the sections of the population they target.
Saldin, Robert. "Wonder Drug Or Bad Medicine? A Short History Of Healthcare Reform And A Prognosis For Its Future." Juniata Voices 11.(2011): 83-91. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 May 2014.
To further understand the US healthcare system and put in context how health coverage is provided to its population it is important to compare the US health system to another country like the Netherlands. In the Netherlands healthcare coverage has been achieved through competitive insurance markets similar to the US and the Dutch government does not control prices, productive capacity or funds but instead only acts as a regulator (Daley & Gubb, 2011). In 2006 the Dutch government held healthcare reforms because the country faced an issue that was very similar to the US, in regards to healthcare coverage inequalities, the population was covered through private and public health insurance, with stable private health insurance for the wealthy and unstable public insurance which lacked patient focus and was inefficient in comparison (Daley & Gubb, 2011). Many factors called for healthcare reformation in the Netherlands like a disarranged structure that ineffectively controlled cream skimming, lack of competitive incentives that for insurance companies resulting in bad performance, and the rising premiums
This study is intended to further understand the impact of health care quality and cost
In France, healthcare relies on the “preferred doctor” scheme, which “represents a soft form of gatekeeping.” Patients would generally obtain a diagnosis with their GP, and then are referred to specialists for further care. However, patients have the option to neglect their GP’s referrals and instead take advantage of “direct access to specialists or other GP’s” (Chevreul K 75).There are no networks of doctors and hospital, as is the case in the American healthcare system, although patients seek other providers would only face “lower levels of reimbursements” (Chevreul K 54). As a result of France’s universal healthcare system at the statutory level, patients are not restricted by the doctor and hospital networks, whereas American patients are coerced to choose a provider as dictated by their private insurance. As a result, “France is generally perceived as a country with an extensive patient choice,” bolstered by the fundamental principle that it is “a patient’s right to choose [a] health professional and hospital” (Chevreul K
Barton, P.L. (2010). Understanding the U.S. health services system. (4th ed). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
According to Sholnik, a health system includes all the different actors, institutions, and resources that are needed to help improve the health of the population (2012). Within the German health care system, there are three different sections, outpatient care, inpatient care and rehabilitation facilities (Healthcare in Germany, 2015). Within the country they also have different cultural views on health should be dealt with.
Switzerland is predominately known for its great health care, rated as best in the world. This is largely due to how it is organized. Reorganization began in the 1994 with the Federal Heath Insurance Act, which came effect in 1996. The system is basically organized into 26 cantons, which are equivalent to US states. Each canton is responsible for the health care of the people in that region and insurance companies operate on a regional basis (James). The government decides on what policies will be covered, and sets prices of the cost of medial charges (McManus). In addition, with in the system there is a complex way with how access, quality and cost are organized.