Johnnymac
Footballguy
I would trust it to the government before the insurance companies. In fact, I believe the insurance companies are the biggest problem in the entire healthcare system.
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Universal Health Care - Let's make this happen (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sabertooth
- Start date
Johnnymac
Footballguy
The Z Machine
Footballguy
I posted this in the other thread. It got some love, but I'll post it again as I think it's an interesting point to start the discussion.
Here's how Switzerland does it (taken from the wiki page):
"Swiss are required to purchase basic health insurance, which covers a range of treatments detailed in the Swiss Federal Law on Health Insurance. It is therefore the same throughout the country and avoids double standards in healthcare. Insurers are required to offer this basic insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They are not allowed to make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.
The insured person pays the insurance premium for the basic plan up to 8% of their personal income. If a premium is higher than this, the government gives the insured person a cash subsidy to pay for any additional premium. The universal compulsory coverage provides for treatment in case of illness or accident (unless another accident insurance provides the cover) and pregnancy. Health insurance covers the costs of medical treatment and hospitalization of the insured. However, the insured person pays part of the cost of treatment. This is done by these ways:
by means of a deductible, which ranges from $184 to a maximum of $1,534 USD for an adult as chosen by the insured person (premiums are adjusted accordingly);
and by a charge of 10% of the costs over and above the deductible. This is known as the retention, and is up to a maximum of $429 USD per year.
In case of pregnancy, there is no charge. For hospitalisation, one pays a contribution to room and service costs.
Insurance premiums vary from insurance company to company the deductible level chosen, the place of residence of the insured person and the degree of supplementary benefit coverage chosen (complementary medicine, routine dental care, half-private or private ward hospitalization, etc.).
In 2014, the average monthly compulsory basic health insurance premiums (with accident insurance) in Switzerland are the following:U
$243 for an adult (age 26+)
$223 for a young adult (age 19–25)
$56 for a child (age 0–18)
Healthcare costs in Switzerland are 11.4% of GDP (2010), comparable to Germany and France (11.6%) and other European countries, but significantly less than in the USA (17.6%)"
So, in summary the Swiss citizenry have MANDATORY coverage of basic needs (preventative and catastrophic), paid through private insurance companies and at a mix of public and private care facilities. This insurance is funded by premiums that scale with income, but have a cap along with deductibles which scale as well. Insurance companies are MANDATED to offer this service at ZERO profit if they wish to provide supplemental insurance plans, which many Swiss have.
Here's an article from 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/health/policy/01swiss.html?pagewanted=all
So, the government defines minimum levels of coverage and requires all citizens to have bssic coverage. They individually apply for basic insurance through private companies, who must offer thirds basic coverage if they want access to consumers of supplemental insurance. For that service, these companies can compete on features and price with each other. They can probably also negotiate rates with providers.
The benefits are universal coverage for basic needs, decoupled from employment, with competition between insurers and providers for a more lucrative supplemental market. Seems like a decent mix of socialism and capitalism.
Here's how Switzerland does it (taken from the wiki page):
"Swiss are required to purchase basic health insurance, which covers a range of treatments detailed in the Swiss Federal Law on Health Insurance. It is therefore the same throughout the country and avoids double standards in healthcare. Insurers are required to offer this basic insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They are not allowed to make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.
The insured person pays the insurance premium for the basic plan up to 8% of their personal income. If a premium is higher than this, the government gives the insured person a cash subsidy to pay for any additional premium. The universal compulsory coverage provides for treatment in case of illness or accident (unless another accident insurance provides the cover) and pregnancy. Health insurance covers the costs of medical treatment and hospitalization of the insured. However, the insured person pays part of the cost of treatment. This is done by these ways:
by means of a deductible, which ranges from $184 to a maximum of $1,534 USD for an adult as chosen by the insured person (premiums are adjusted accordingly);
and by a charge of 10% of the costs over and above the deductible. This is known as the retention, and is up to a maximum of $429 USD per year.
In case of pregnancy, there is no charge. For hospitalisation, one pays a contribution to room and service costs.
Insurance premiums vary from insurance company to company the deductible level chosen, the place of residence of the insured person and the degree of supplementary benefit coverage chosen (complementary medicine, routine dental care, half-private or private ward hospitalization, etc.).
In 2014, the average monthly compulsory basic health insurance premiums (with accident insurance) in Switzerland are the following:U
$243 for an adult (age 26+)
$223 for a young adult (age 19–25)
$56 for a child (age 0–18)
Healthcare costs in Switzerland are 11.4% of GDP (2010), comparable to Germany and France (11.6%) and other European countries, but significantly less than in the USA (17.6%)"
So, in summary the Swiss citizenry have MANDATORY coverage of basic needs (preventative and catastrophic), paid through private insurance companies and at a mix of public and private care facilities. This insurance is funded by premiums that scale with income, but have a cap along with deductibles which scale as well. Insurance companies are MANDATED to offer this service at ZERO profit if they wish to provide supplemental insurance plans, which many Swiss have.
Here's an article from 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/health/policy/01swiss.html?pagewanted=all
So, the government defines minimum levels of coverage and requires all citizens to have bssic coverage. They individually apply for basic insurance through private companies, who must offer thirds basic coverage if they want access to consumers of supplemental insurance. For that service, these companies can compete on features and price with each other. They can probably also negotiate rates with providers.
The benefits are universal coverage for basic needs, decoupled from employment, with competition between insurers and providers for a more lucrative supplemental market. Seems like a decent mix of socialism and capitalism.
MaxThreshold
Footballguy
Negative. It was a failed plan before it even saw the light of day - not the GOPs fault the Dems took a failed plan and failed with it.
