what can the us learn from the french health care system?
DESCRIPTION
The French health care system places at or near the top in international rankings. It provides universal coverage at a significantly lower cost than the US system. This slideshow discusses possible lessons that can be learned from a comparison of the two systems.TRANSCRIPT
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What Can the US Learnfrom the French
Health Care System?Posted March 10, 2011
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Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
WHO Ranking of World Health Care
One of the most widely cited international rankings of health care systems was published by the World Health Organization in 2000*
France ranked No. 1, the US No. 37 of 190 countries covered
The ranking was based on a weighted average of measures of population health, distribution of health care, fairness of the financial burden, and efficiency
*For the full survey, see WHO, http://www.who.int/whr/en/. A convenient summary of the main findings can be found at http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
Amenable Mortality
A less subjective method of ranking health care systems is based on amenable mortality rates
This amenable mortality ranking also placed France at the top and the United States at the Bottom
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
Coverage Choice in the French Health Care System
In addition to providing top-quality care, the French health care system combines universal coverage with a high degree of choice
Patients are free to choose their doctors, and for the most part, to visit specialists of their choice
Doctors are free to follow the course of treatment that they find most medically appropriate
A Hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, FrancePhoto source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sabourin.jpg
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
Health Care Costs as Share of GDP
The total cost of the French health care system was 11.2 percent of GDP as of 2008
That is substantially less than US health care cost, but was still second-highest among OECD countries by this measure
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
Health Care Costsin US Dollars per capita
The gap between US and French health care costs is even greater measured in US dollars per capita at purchasing power parity
France, ranking 11th in the OECD, spends just half as much as the US, ranking 1st
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
Reasons for Lower Health Care Costs in France
Lower administrative costs due to simpler payment structure
More aggressive bargaining with providers on the part of government
Out-of-court malpractice system similar to US worker’s compensation
Lower physician earnings (about 1/3 of US level), with lower earnings for doctors offset by Free medical education No malpractice insurance fees How the US Health Care Dollar is Spent
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Posted March 10, 2011 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com
The Bottom Line: What can We Learn from France?
The possibility of top-quality health care with universal coverage and a high degree of choice is a reality, not a utopia
France manages to provide such a system at lower total cost than in the United States
Although differences in doctors’ earnings and other factors might make it more expensive to run a French-style system in the US than in its home country, the French experience suggests that Americans are not getting their money’s worth from their health care dollars