The existing healthcare system in France, which is currently regarded as the best healthcare system in the world by the World Health Organization due to its efficiency, can be adapted by the healthcare system in the United States to achieve the objective of universal health care coverage. The country’s overall health, the quality of its medical services, and patient satisfaction with those treatments are all extremely high. This article will present an in-depth evaluation of how the US healthcare system can be adjusted to incorporate France’s healthcare system for the US to achieve universal healthcare coverage effectively.
The United States healthcare system can convert from its current multi-payer system to the single-payer system of France’s healthcare coverage. This can be accomplished primarily through modifying the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) to have unified and mandatory health coverage. The federal government of the United States will determine the national health strategy and the distribution of allocated expenses among the several state health departments. These agents are in charge of organizing and providing health care services.
The majority of the funding for this healthcare system comes from various forms of taxation, including payroll taxes, taxes on industries, and the national income tax. Statutory health insurance, is a form of employer-sponsored health insurance in France. Fifty per cent of the funding for SHI comes from employer and employee payroll taxes (Giovanella et al 2018) Thirteen per cent comes from the pharmaceutical industry and voluntary health insurance companies, and two per cent comes from state subsidies.
Everyone who resides in the area is required to enroll in this system, and anyone who requires medical care will have access to it, including workers, retirees, self-employed individuals, and those without jobs. The essential advantage of adopting this approach is that 70–80% of medical expenses are reimbursed under the French SHI system (Giovanella et al., 2018). As part of the government-provider agreement, it is anticipated that this amount will cover the costs associated with hospital visits, doctor visits, long-term care, and purchasing prescription medications. Patients will be responsible for charges and copayments exceeding covered fees. However, the remaining 20–30% will be paid by insurance. As the health care system does not cover 100 per cent of medical costs, patients are responsible for charges and copayments that exceed covered costs.
The requirement that individuals contribute approximately 21 per cent of their annual income to the national healthcare system is one of the drawbacks of adopting the universal healthcare insurance system used in France (Fox & Poirier, 2018). Therefore, this indicates that if this system is modified, American residents will be required to pay more significant income taxes to finance SHI. However, in the long run, they will pay fewer out-of-pocket expenses and payments for their health care services, particularly in an emergency.
According to the French healthcare system, a robust national government delivers more qualified health care. In addition, financing universal coverage for citizens should be a priority and completed prior to any efforts to reform the health care system. It is projected that after adopting this strategy, the United States will have a life expectancy equivalent to France’s and a decline in newborn mortality rates (Fox & Poirier, 2018). In addition, the whole population, including noncitizens and unemployed residents, will be eligible for health insurance under the new plan.
The sole entity with complete and total authority over the national budget for healthcare expenditures is the French government. Consequently, once the government of the United States adopts the system used in France, health insurance in the United States will be largely financed and controlled by the government. The system will be required to operate within an annual budget that t must reevaluate each year. Prices are modified the following year if healthcare facilities, hospitals, and physicians go over or do not entirely use their budget target in a given year. This is done to make the most of the funds budgeted for the government.
When the French healthcare system is implemented in the United States, all healthcare providers will be paid at a rate determined at the national level, and the process of making payments will be streamlined to reduce the amount of paperwork that must be completed. France does not rely as heavily on technology as the United States, which paved the way for developing this kind of systems (Fox & Poirier, 2018). All healthcare facilities and hospitals are paid the same amount for hospital services, and all doctors will receive the same payment under an annual scheduled national fee with a set payment amount for each type of consultation.
In contrast to the current payment system in the United States, which provides hospitals and physicians with separate financial incentives, this system lacks such incentives. Under the SHI, aspiring medical professionals will receive free medical education, but doctors will be paid less (Glied et al., 2019). In contrast, France has a system wherein compensation for medical misconduct comes from the public purse. This relieves physicians of the responsibility of making malpractice settlements and removes the costs of the court process. Medical care is a national and government responsibility in France, and the United States government should adopt the same responsibility model. The federal government allocates allotted spending for each health sector and geographic region. Private companies offer supplemental health insurance to patients to cover copayments and out-of-pocket fees, but only for a limited range of procedures.
Private physicians are financially compensated through the insurance system to ensure they can continue providing services to the public healthcare system. Patients make direct payments to physicians in private practice and only hospitals per a national fee schedule; the health insurance funds in their communities reimburse patients for these payments. An agreement negotiated between health care providers, physician organizations, and the state, medical care costs and payments for those expenses are subject to annual negotiations and modifications (Glied et al., 2019). Private hospitals are reimbursed daily, whereas public hospitals are reimbursed based on an annual budget agreed between regional agencies and the ministry of health.
In this healthcare system, the government will be responsible for funding the cost of hospital and medical staff reimbursement. This will ensure that all residents have access to healthcare, regardless of age, status, or income. This high level of health care will be accessible to all people, enabling patients and medical professionals a great deal of choice. Patients can pick the healthcare services they get, and clinicians can choose any therapy deemed acceptable for the patient, even if the government imposes minimal restrictions on mandatory insurance coverage.
In summation, a healthcare system that provides service access to all Americans is of the utmost importance. In an emergency, it is less difficult for patients to access immediate and quality medical care without digging further into their wallets. Altering the structure of the healthcare system in the United States will play a part in making it simpler to involve all of the stakeholders who are necessary to steer universal healthcare coverage, which will consequently facilitate better coordination across all departments.
References
Fox, A., & Poirier, R. (2018). How single-payer stacks up: evaluating different models of universal health coverage on cost, access, and quality. International Journal of Health Services, 48(3), 568-585.
Glied, S., Black, M., Lauerman, W., & Snowden, S. (2019). Considering “single payer” proposals in the US: lessons from abroad. Issue Brief (Commonw Fund), 2019, 1-10.
Giovanella, L., Mendoza-Ruiz, A., Pilar, A. D. C. A., Rosa, M. C. D., Martins, G. B., Santos, I. S.,… & Machado, C. V. (2018). Universal health system and universal health coverage: assumptions and strategies. Ciencia & saude coletiva, 23, 1763-1776.
