This is the end

Since this is my last blog for the quarter, I figured I'd look into my political archives to see what to talk about. And to my nostalgic glee, I found an old debate case about the French healthcare system.

French healthcare is championed as one of the forerunners of affordable, universal healthcare. But there are some significant problems with this assessment.

In the French system, it is more expensive to see a specialist than a general practitioner, it is more expensive to have a home visit, and even more expensive to see a doctor at night, on Sundays, or on public holidays. The cost of the French system overall is boasted to be cheaper by half than the United States, but France also has 240,939,860 less people than the United States. That's a lot less people to cover. Also, if their healthcare spending continues at this rate, France will be 70 billion euros in debt by the end of 2020.

That doesn't sound like much fun. Now, the debate case I'm pulling bits of information from digresses into a discussion of the Japanese health care system, which it believes is much more efficient. Let's have a look, shall we?

In Japan, universal health coverage is divided into two categories; National Health Insurance and Employee's Health Insurance. National Health Coverage covers workers in agriculture, forestry, or fisheries, those that are self-employed, and those not employed, including expectant mothers, students, retirees, etc. Employee Health Insurance covers people who are working for medium to large companies; national or local government; or private schools. There is also a government-managed program within this plan for employees of small businesses. Premiums are based on monthly salary (excluding bonuses) and half is paid by the employer, half by the employee. The average contribution is around 4% of the person’s salary. Those covered under Employee Health Insurance pay 20% of their medical costs when hospitalized and 30% of the costs for out-patient care. Co-payments may also be required for prescription drugs. Costs are shared by the patients up to a certain ceiling, after which they receive full coverage. In case of long-term illness, the patients or the patients’ spouse receive an allowance based on their salary; in case of death, an allowance for the funeral is also paid.

Costs covered in part of in full by health insurance include in- and out-patient care, home care, and dental care; prescription drugs; long-term care expenses; home nursing expenses for the elderly; prosthetics; and cash benefits for childbirth.

Now, I'm not completely sold on this whole universal healthcare idea, but it's interesting to consider.