Health Systems: Research & Counselling

The benefits of the French health care system

The health care system in France has often been used to counter campaigns to introduce a universal health care system in the United States. Often, social conservatives have used France as an example of how America should steer clear of ’socialized medicine'and have often warned of France’s supposedly ’long waiting lists'and ’terrible'quality of care and care fees advice.

The truth is that the French system offers a wide level of choice for patients, with extensive general practitioners and specialists with health care standards much the same as in other western countries. The healthcare in France is funded by workers - employees pay a basic rate of twenty percent of their gross income to fund the Sécurité sociale (the French social security system) and self-employed individuals are required to pay a higher percentage

One of the most important principles of the French health care system is to provide quality access to care for all of its citizens, regardless of their ability to pay for their treatment. La Couverture maladie universelle is the French equivalent of universal health care coverage and all French people have access to it under law. The poorer a person is, the less they are required to pay. In turn, the more ill a person is, the less they will pay. This is in stark contrast to the United States, where Insurance Companies (branded by Democrat politician Nancy Pelosi as ’monsters’) charge extortionate fees for even the poorest families, many of whom were unable to afford health insurance in the past.

All patients in France pay the full bill when seeing a doctor or a specialist, which is later reimbursed, usually at a refund of 70 percent. This differs to the British system where do not have to pay to see a doctor or to receive treatment. However, in France patients can negotiate these fees, which will usually depend on their financial circumstances.