Universal Health Care Universal Health Care in Other Nationsin Other Nations

Bukola J. Ishola

“Everybody has a right to health care”.Pascal Couchepin

Swiss President

In this presentation I In this presentation I will:will:

Talk about universal health care in other developed nations

Define their system types

Talk about how their system works

Discuss interesting concerns about their system

Compare the U.S. to Switzerland

Pros and Cons about the U.S. Health Care reform, after learning more about other countries.

“Head of State” (2003)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLby6zDVG8

Aspects of Universal Aspects of Universal Health Care in the U.S.Health Care in the U.S.

affordable

cannot exclude those with pre-existing conditions

women cannot be charged higher rates

dependent coverage for adult children until age 26

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/25/health.care.law.basics/index.html

Capitalist Countries Across the Globe Capitalist Countries Across the Globe that Have Health Care for Everyonethat Have Health Care for Everyone

United Kingdom (1948)

Japan (1938)

Germany (1941)

Taiwan (1995)

Switzerland (1994)

The United KingdomThe United Kingdom

Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on health care: 8.3

Average family premium: None; funded by taxation.

Co-payments: None for most services; some co-pays for dental care, eyeglasses and 5 percent of prescriptions. Young people and the elderly are exempt from all drug co-pays.

JapanJapan

Percentage of GDP spent on health care: 8

Average family premium: $280 per month, with employers paying more than half.

Co-payments: 30 percent of the cost of a procedure, but the total amount paid in a month is capped according to income.

GermanyGermany

Percentage of GDP spent on health care: 10.7

Average family premium: $750 per month; premiums are pegged to patients' income.

Co-payments: 10 euros ($15) every three months; some patients, like pregnant women, are exempt.

TaiwanTaiwan

Percentage GDP spent on health care: 6.3

Average family premium: $650 per year for a family of four.

Co-payments: 20 percent of the cost of drugs, up to $6.50; up to $7 for outpatient care; $1.80 for dental and traditional Chinese medicine. There are exemptions for major diseases, childbirth, preventive services, and for the poor, veterans, and children.

SwitzerlandSwitzerland

Percentage of GDP spent on health care: 11.6

Average monthly family premium: $750, paid entirely by consumers; there are government subsidies for low-income citizens.

Co-payments: 10 percent of the cost of services, up to $420 per year.

a more detailed a more detailed comparison...comparison...

United Kingdom Japan Germany Taiwan Switzerland United States

System Type

Single Payer Single PayerInsurance Mandate

Single PayerInsurance Mandate

Insurance Mandate

There are 3 system types under universal health care: (1) single payer, (2) two-tier, and (3) insurance mandate

Single Payer: “The government provides insurance for all residents (or citizens) and pays all health care expenses except for copays and

coinsurance. Providers may be public, private, or a combination of both”

Insurance Mandate: “The government mandates that all citizens purchase insurance, whether from private, public, or non-profit insurers. In some cases the insurer list is quite restrictive, while in others a healthy private market for insurance is simply regulated and standardized by the government. In this

kind of system insurers are barred from rejecting sick individuals, and individuals are required to purchase insurance, in order to prevent typical

health care market failures from arising.”http://truecostblog.com/2009/08/09/countries-with-universal-healthcare-by-date/

United Kingdom Japan Germany Taiwan Switzerland

How it works?

The system is funded through taxes, administrative costs are low; there are no bills to collect or claims to review

Unlike the U.K., there are no gatekeepers; they can go to any specialist that they would like to, whenever they want to.

Sickness funds are nonprofit and cannot deny coverage based on preexisting conditions. The sickness funds bargain with doctors as a group

The Taiwanese can see any doctor without a referral. Every citizen has a smart card, which is used to store his or her medical history and bill the national insurer.

Insurance companies are not allowed to make a profit on basic care and are prohibited from cherry-picking only young and healthy applicants

Questions, Comments

& Concerns

The stereotype of socialized medicine -- long waits and limited choice -- still has some truth. In response, the British government has instituted reforms to help make care more competitive and give patients more choice

Japan has been so successful at keeping costs down that Japan now spends too little on health care; half of the hospitals in Japan are operating in the red

The single-payment system leaves some German doctors feeling underpaid. Germany also lets the richest 10 percent opt out of the sickness funds in favor of U.S.-style for-profit insurance.

Taiwan's system is not taking in enough money to cover the medical care it provides. It is related to politics because Taiwan's parliament must approve an increase in insurance premiums

The Swiss system is the second most expensive in the world. Drug prices are still slightly higher than in other European nations

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/

...a comparison of Switzerland and the

United States...

Interview with Swiss Interview with Swiss President Pascal CouchepinPresident Pascal Couchepin

He overseas the implementation of the law LAMal (1994).

Prior to the law, Switzerland’s health care system was similar to the United States before the health care reform.

The law basically states that the everyone must purchase health insurance, and that the country pays for the poor.

This law gives medical care for all.

Being that the U.S. modeled Switzerland’s system of health care, is it a good idea?

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VWANhILPEU

With what we know about the new With what we know about the new health care reform in the U.S., and health care reform in the U.S., and our crash course on Switzerland’s our crash course on Switzerland’s health care, what are the pros and health care, what are the pros and cons of the United State’s universal cons of the United State’s universal

health care?health care?

U.S. Universal Health U.S. Universal Health CareCare

Pros

Recognized as a human right

Choose your own doctor and insurance

Efficient and Neutral

Preventative health care

Cons

Expensive for the gov’t

“Patients have too much choice”

Size of the program

Fear of socialized medicine

single interest groups

Regardless, not everyone Regardless, not everyone is going to be is going to be

happy...universal happy...universal coverage, no coverage, coverage, no coverage, single payer, insurance single payer, insurance

mandate, etc.mandate, etc.There are, “Huge wave of protests, and in November starts a huge wave of protests against limitation of services in the health service. And during the next 11 months, every[one] protests and say[s], "We want the new vaccines; we want improvement of that; we want these new drugs." And one month in the year, they protest against the consequences of the rest of the year.”

Pascal CouchepinSwiss President

In response to the question: “Here's what you're going to pay next year"?