Healthcare in France: A Comprehensive Overview

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).

Access to Healthcare

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

All residents who can provide documentation proving they have been in the country for 3 or more months are eligible for coverage under the Protection Maladie Universelle (PUMA) (Leonetti, 2016).

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.

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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.

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).

Mental healthcare is provided publicly or privately by general practitioners or by specialists such as psychiatrists or psychologists (Durand-Zaleski & Universitat Paris-Est, 2016). Long-term care is covered by the statutory health insurance, but the cost of the housing for people to receive such care is the responsibility of the family, or patient.

Effectiveness of Healthcare

The overall satisfaction rate of the health care system in France is 88% according to Chevreul, Brigham, Durand-Zaleski & Hernandez-Quevedo (2015). The freedom of choice is also very popular in France. There are ample choices for citizens to choose the care provider they see fit (Chevreul et al., 2015). Having long waits to get into receive care from a provider has not been noted as a problem (Chevreul et al., 2015).

Comparison of Healthcare

Overall the healthcare system in France is cheaper and more accessible than in the United States. In the chart below I will show overall spending comparison and life expectancy from birth for males, females and overall. Also, I will compare the per capita spending, average length of hospital stays and amenable deaths between the US and France.

US vs France

• Life Expectancy Men (2015) 76.3 years 79.2 years
• Life Expectancy Women (2015) 81.1 years 85.5 years
• Overall Life Expectancy (2015) 78.7 years 82.4 years
• Average Spending Per Capita (2016) $9,892.30/year $4,600.40/year
• Average Stay @ Hospital (2014) 5.7 Days 5.5 Days
• Amenable Deaths/100,000 in people 0-74 years of age 106.9 60.97

Conclusion

After researching healthcare in France, I have discovered they have an excellent model and great coverage for all citizens. The French make sure people are taken care of regardless of the ability to pay for medical care. People are afforded the right to choose the providers they see, and they are given options on how to proceed with receiving care.

There is an ease in changing care providers if they choose and they are not locked into certain providers, even if they are given medical coverage from the government. They have multiple programs to help make sure everyone can pay for healthcare and has access if needed (Rodwin, 2018).

References

• Chevreul, Karine, Berg-Brigham, Karen, Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle, & Hernandez-Quevedo, Cristina. (2015). France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 17(3): 1-218. Retrieved from
• Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle, and Universitat Paris-Est. (2016) "International Health Care System Profiles." The French Healthcare System. Retrieved from
• Leonetti, Tracy. (2016). Universal healthcare in France: the PUMA reform. Retrieved from
• Rodwin, Victor. (2018). The french health care system. World Hospitals and Health Services, 54(1), 49-55.