Compare US and Switzerland Healthcare Systems In 2010, the United States created The Affordable Care Act (ACA). The objective was to share the responsibility of costs between the government, individuals, and employers to provide affordable access to quality health insurance. “However, health coverage remains fragmented, with numerous private and public sources, as well as wide gaps in insured rates across the U.S. population.” (“United States: International Health Care System Profiles,” n.d.). Each individual state within the US, generally has control over private insurance. Insurance can be purchased through private companies or the Marketplace. The Marketplace provides “income-based premium subsidies for low and middle income people.” …show more content…
Compare Access for Children, Unemployed, and Retired Populations Adults, 65 years old and older and people with disabilities are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Physician services and hospitalizations are covered by medicare. An additional supplemental program may be purchased to cover prescription drugs. Low income families and children may qualify for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicaid has significantly lower copays and out of pocket expenses compared to private insurance. Unemployed individuals may qualify for Medicaid depending on the state.
Switzerland regulates that children covered by SHI have deductible of zero for children up to age 18. Individuals are responsible for 10 percent of coinsurance, but costs are capped at roughly $275. Unemployed individuals are still expected to contribute (amount is reassessed based on individual situation) to the income compensations scheme, and the old age and invalidity pensions. Unemployment benefits are available if criteria are met. Individuals 55 years or older can qualify for retirement. However, retirement doesn’t exempt individuals from still paying the SHI.
Coverage of Medications In 2013, pharmaceutical cost per capita in the US was $1,112 compared to Switzerland’s $730. Private insurance plans widely vary on medication coverage. However, there are programs that are no cost to the individual that can decrease the cost of medications for people without
Furthermore, the United States spends nearly double the average $3,923 for the 15 countries ("Health Care Cost," 2011).” Accordingly the U.S. throws away more money than any other country on healthcare which consequently could jeopardize the medical attention that is being provided.
The healthcare systems of Switzerland and the United States are quite similar in some aspects and vastly different in others. In Switzerland, the healthcare is universal and available to all. It is provided by private individual insurance companies and subsidized by the government when needed. Basic health insurance is required to be purchased within 3 months of residency or after birth and is an individual’s choice as to what carrier they choose. Of course, there are exceptions to this mandate but they are very few.("Healthcare in Switzerland," “n.d.”, para. 1) Because of this requirement, 99.5% of the population in Switzerland has
Low income families who are unemployed can apply for healthcare coverage through Medicaid. Low income families with children can apply to have
Medicare program in the U.S. covers the cost of healthcare of those over the age of 65. Medicaid
Finding a healthcare system that is beneficial and affordable for the country’s citizens is challenging and often seems impossible due to the high price of medical care and the broad spectrum of healthcare issues that insurance plans must cover. The debate of a healthcare system which is affordable, effective, and accessible for the majority of the population is a topic of great discussion. The United States and Switzerland health care systems are prime examples of this debate. The United States has The Affordable Care Act, or Obama Care as it is commonly known in Switzerland residents have a Universal Health Care System. While both systems provide health care to their residents, they each have good and less desirable aspects to them.
The Affordable care act was enacted in order to reform the health insurance industry and to make health insurance more affordable and to provide better health care coverage for the citizens of the United States. The Obama administration set out with the goals of: expanding access to health insurance, lower the uninsured rate, and to reduce the costs of healthcare. The focus of the act is to use regulations on the federal and state level to maximize health care coverage for all citizens of the U.S. In this section I will examine the factors that have come to play into the creation of the affordable care act and the back ground
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was officially signed into legislation in March 2010. The ACA was a major step in achieving a system of universal healthcare, which essentially means all citizens are provided with healthcare and financial protection. In the 1960’s America introduced the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which helped guarantee some type of medical insurance cover for the very poor (Medicaid) and elderly (Medicare). Even though programs like these assisted in covering the most vulnerable groups of people, many Americans still did not have healthcare insurance. The goal of the ACA reform is to ensure that all Americans are covered by some form of health insurance. The ACA promises healthcare access to
Health care in the United States is driven by a patchwork of services and financing. Americans access health care services in a variety of ways — from private physicians’ offices, to public hospitals, to safety-net providers. This diverse network of health care providers is supported by an equally diverse set of funding streams. The United States spends almost twice as much on health care as any other country, topping $2 trillion each year. (WHO.INT 2000) However, even with overall spending amounting to more than $7,400 per person, millions of individuals cannot access the health care services they need.(Foundation 2009) So when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a the Affordable Care Act or ACA) was passed in the summer
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”, has drastically altered healthcare in America. The goal of this act was to give Americans access to affordable, high quality insurance while simultaneously decreasing overall healthcare spending. The ACA had intended to maximize health care coverage throughout the United States, but this lofty ambition resulted in staggeringly huge financial and human costs.
After reviewing all the required information, there were several similarities. For instance, a similarity that between the United States and Switzerland is that all residents are mandated to have some form of health insurance, therefore making it the country with one of the best health coverage. Unlike the United States where employers as well as State coverage such as Medicare and Medicaid programs subsidizes health coverage, in Switzerland most residents are responsible for the purchase of their own insurances. Another factor regarding their health care is that all insurances are privately owned, however it is also under the government regulation. Upon further evaluation there were similarities between the US and Japan where with some insurance
German sickness funds are required to be financially self - sufficient and premiums are set as a percentage of annual income. The percentage varies from fund to fund with 13% being the average. The premiums are deducted from pay packets with employers and employees paying half each. As of 2004 the Germans enacted co pays into their healthcare system. This involves Germans having to pay 10 Euro ( per quarter, every 3 months ) to see a GP, 10 Euro per day as a co pay in hospital with a max of 28 days and 10 % for drug prescriptions not exceeding 10 Euros … but total annual co pays never exceed 1 % of a German’s yearly income("Sick Around The," n.d.). Examples of this, in relatable examples, would be an individual making 60,000 dollars per year would pay 600.00 per month for health insurance, half of that 600.00 is picked up by their employer. (this is the max any one individual pays in the social insurance program. ) An individual making 20,000 per year will pay 250.00 per month, again half of which their employer pays. This covers all non-working members of their family. If a married couple are both working they both must contribute to the social insurance program individually, or opt to purchase private health insurance.
Everyone would agree that a good health system, above all, must contribute to good health. It is certainly not considered acceptable to protect or improve the average health of the population, if at the same time inequality worsens or remains high because the gain accrues disproportionately to those already enjoying better health. The responsibility of a health care system is also to reduce inequalities to race, gender, social status and religion. While the United States is considered a world leader in almost any category they are judged; however, the US healthcare system remains one of the worst. This analysis will compare the US health
Our recommendation is to create a universal program based on that of the UK, specifically, that offered in England. The NHS pays less than Canada for healthcare plans, including Pharmacare, with twice the population. According to Marc-André Gagnon (2017), the UK has been able to keep costs low by focusing on reducing overprescribing and improving on drug pricing through negotiation of prices with pharmaceutical companies. Milne, Laupacis and Tierney (2015) quotes Daniel Martin, vice-president of Medical Affairs and Health System Solutions at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto who states, “evidence-based formularies [like the U.K.’s] can shape prescribing behaviour considerably – it’s probably the easiest way
As Bnbalenda writes, “Switzerland has a universal health care,” (2011). In 1996, the Federal Health Insurance Law planned to introduce universal coverage. The Swiss health care structure is mainly decentralized along with being public and private. One part of the public system is the mandatory health insurance (MHI), which is financed by the general taxation. Residents by law must purchase MHI within only three months of arriving in Switzerland. Unlike the United States where attaining health insurance through an employer is common, insurance policies in Switzerland are not. According to Sturny this leaves, “…virtually no uninsured
OECD HEALTH WORKING PAPERS NO. 15 PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE IN OECD COUNTRIES: THE BENEFITS AND COSTS FOR