The Netherlands has recently enacted a new insurance system. This replaced the government insurance system that was previously in place.
http://www.minvws.nl/en/themes/health-insurance-system/
This is an interesting switch from government health insurance to private health insurance.
Everyone is required to have insurance and can purchase it from their choice of a number private insurance companies. Some of these companies are for-profit and some are non-profit. There are about four large companies and over a dozen small companies. No company can refuse to provide coverage to any person. The annual cost of insurance is about 1000 to 1200 Euros. The government subsidizes the cost of insurance to people with low incomes. The insurance covers the full range of medical diagnostic and treatment services. You can also buy supplemental insurance to cover things like single rooms in the hospitals, cosmetic surgery, and the like. To combat the problems presented with overuse of universal systems there is a non-use reimbursement at the end of the year.
This system seems to make alot of sense to me, but does it match up with the candidates? What do you think could be improved in this system?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This does sound a lot like what Governor Romney had in place for Mass, as well as what Mayor Giuliani would like for the Country.
This is a free market plan that creates some competition that will control costs, while providing care for the people. While the government is still involved for low income citizens, this plan is a way for the government to step away from the large tax and bureaucratic burden of socialized care.
Both Governor Romney and Mayor Giuliani would add onto this program by making business pay for part of these plans and not have the entire cost of care fall on the people.
It is good to see that while the Democrats are banging their chests about how successful socialization is, there are countries out there who are moving towards a capitalist, free market approach
I would be interested in learning more about the factors that motivated the Netherlands to make the switch.
Post a Comment