Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Health care, international style.

So if you've ever talked to me about health care in Switzerland, you've probably seen me nod my head a little and smile. Well, it's time to come clean... I can't be living a lie anymore. Forgive me.
Fact: I had absolutely no idea about the health care system in Switzerland...that is, until now!

For those in the same position as I was, here's the general gist:
1. In Switzerland, health insurance is compulsory. The government provides the $$$ for those who cannot afford it.
2. There is ONE price, no matter what your income.
3. Their health care is based on individual choice. "individuals — not employers or the government — choose from a broad array of health plans, sold by private insurance companies."
Now you can nod and smile unpretentiously....

From reading the article (link posted above), Switzerland's system is interesting. I mean, the statistics, seen on the graphs to the left, seem pretty appealing. Many Swiss citizens are happy, and the only complaint is the cost. However, it seems like ultimately they still pay less than we do here in America. So let's just adopt the health care system straight from the Swiss! Win, win situation? Everyone is happy? If only it was that easy.







Interesting note:
When I was staying in Taiwan, all I had to do was walk into a hospital like it was a Safeway. Clinics are open all day until 9pm or even 10pm. (Yes, even on weekends.)
Everyone has to bring a card when seeing a doctor. The doctor would then scan the card on a computer and the patient's history and medications all show up a screen. No paperwork!

-Phoebe Chao

3 comments:

The new Kevin (a.k.a Kevin Kwan) said...

Hmm, this system seems oddly familiar to a health care plan I once heard of.

Don't lynch me for this, but I thought I once heard that the Republicans wanted to provide subsidies to individuals who would then choose to buy health care plans from private insurance companies.

Again, this was only a vague memory.

"However, it seems like ultimately they still pay less than we do here in America."

I highly suspect that the reason why the Swiss are so successful is because they are healthy to begin with; due to a healthy lifestyle.
Americans are really more of a liability come to think of it.

After a minute search on Google with the keywords, "best place to live in the world", I found this:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/04/0428_best_places_to_live/3.htm

And here's another one:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/27/cities-best-live-lifestyle-real-estate-best-places-to-live_slide_20.html?thisSpeed=15000

Swiss cities appear a couple times in that ranking.

Amanda Rosas said...

Oh You Swiss can be so clever!!! I wish that America could be like this but to be honest we are to far up the later that certian people are better then others.

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