Healthcare in France Essay

I decided to research healthcare in France. The system in France has many parts and in the following paragraphs I will discuss how it is funded, how it is accessed, how it is perceived in France, and briefly compare it to the US. The healthcare system in France has had some changes in the recent years with new regulations and mandates by the government. As of the year 2000, everyone in France has access to some sort of healthcare (Rodwin, 2018).Healthcare in France Essay Paper

Access to Healthcare

Everyone in France has access to healthcare, but there are various levels.

Coverage is universal and compulsory and is provided to all residents by noncompetitive statutory health insurance (SHI) (Durand-Zaleski & Universitat  Paris-Est, 2016). There are roughly 221,000 general practitioners and 119,000 specialists in France so there is not a huge waitlist for people that need to seek care.

Type of Healthcare

Healthcare in France is publicly funded. SHI is financed by taxes, voluntary health insurance companies, and state subsidies (Durand-Zaleski & Universitat Paris-Est, 2016). All citizens are covered, and very rarely do they opt out of coverage. There are different types of coverage for immigrants, visitors from within the European Union, and non-EU visitors are even covered for emergent issues.Healthcare in France Essay Paper

There are 3 main types of hospitals in France. 65% of hospitals are public, 25% are private for-profit facilities, and the remaining 10% are private not for profit, such as cancer centers (Durand-Zaleski & Universitat Paris-Est, 2016). Public hospitals are funded mainly by the statutory health insurance. Private hospitals receive funding from the statutory health insurance as well, but there are also doctors fees which are added to the billing as well (Durand-Zaleski & Universitat Paris-Est, 2016).