Swiss are required to purchase basic health insurance, which covers a range of treatments detailed in the Federal Act. It is therefore the same throughout the country and avoids double standards in healthcare. Insurers are required to offer this basic insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They may not make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.
Regulations also restrict the allowable policies and profits that a private insurer may offer, as noted by healthcare economics scholar Uwe Reinhardt in a review in JAMA. Reinhardt writes that,
"To compete in the market for compulsory health insurance, a Swiss health insurer must be registered with the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, which regulates health insurance under the 1994 statute. The insurers were not allowed to earn profits from the mandated benefit package, although they have always been able to profit from the sale of actuarially priced supplementary benefits (mainly superior amenities).
Regulations require "a 25-year-old and an 80-year-old individual pay a given insurer the same premium for the same type of policy..Overall, then, the Swiss health system is a variant of the highly government-regulated social insurance systems of Europe..that rely on ostensibly private, nonprofit health insurers that also are subject to uniform fee schedules and myriad government regulations."
The insured pays the insurance premium for the basic plan up to 8% of their personal income. If a premium is higher than this, then the government gives the insured a cash subsidy to pay for any additional premium.
The universal compulsory coverage provides for treatment in case of illness or accident (unless another accident insurance provides the cover) and pregnancy. Health insurance covers the costs of medical treatment and hospitalisation of the insured. However, the insured person pays part of the cost of treatment. This is done:
by means of an annual excess (or deductible, called the franchise), which ranges from CHF 300 to a maximum of CHF 2,500 as chosen by the insured person (premiums are adjusted accordingly); and by a charge of 10% of the costs over and above the excess. This is known as the retention, and is up to a maximum of 700CHF per year (excluding medication). In case of pregnancy there is no charge. For hospitalisation, one pays a contribution to room and service costs.
Insurance premiums vary from insurance company to company (Ger. Krankenkassen, Fr. caisses-maladie, It. casse malati), the excess level chosen (franchise), the place of residence of the insured person and the degree of supplementary benefit coverage chosen (dental care, private ward hospitalisation, etc.).
In 2010, the average monthly compulsory basic health insurance premiums (with accident insurance) in Switzerland are:
CHF 351.05 for an adult (age 26– years) CHF 293.85 for a young adult (age 19–25 years) CHF 84.03 for a child (age 0–18 years)
Sound Familiar Conrad ? Read and Weep .....it's even more regulated than Obama's plan ! There - I finally got it out of you !!
Here .....chew on these words for a few minutes darling ... These are Republican's answer to health care reform ....
Tort reform is a drop in the bucket in comparison of the eminsity of the run-away costs due to medical providers and insurance companies operating with no regulation. Accross state lines is already widely used - and the same insurance companies just slightly change their name and have the billing sent back to their state anyway ...... Free enterprise ONLY works if there is true competition ....like the "public option" would have been .....
Telling Dems to think outside the box is truly an oxymoron for a republican .... Republican's remedies for health care are so proven to fail already and archaic that you need to try a new approach ...
I see no race issue with this bill what so ever ........... And, I think other countries will applaud Obama for pushing this bill trough.......as it sets an example of similarity with other countries who have some form of government controlled health care...
It is mandatory in California .....mainly because the insurance companies were fed-up with paying for uninsured motorists and passed the cost on to the insured.....
"Now, the 32 million that will now be covered, as the hype goes, will still have to PURCHASE an insurance policy with their own money, in addition to new taxes that will be needed to implement this atrocity or the Government will have to pay for them, like Medicare, unemployment compensation, etc. I for one have a probem with the government mandating that I must purchase a product from a FOR PROFIT company and I cannot choose any company I want, I can only buy a policy from an insurance company in Florida. "
Well, it looks like you resent any government program providing service. And by the way , if you worked - you've paid into these programs for years. And just who would you like to purchase your health insurance from ? There are only two choices that I can see - either the government or "FOR PROFIT" companies ... OR, maybe you don't want to have insurance ???? Which is it ? Your statements sound like a lot of ramdom whining - purely because you don't care for Obama .........
Hi Sophie, Health care in America has been basically a free market with some minor state government oversight. Many in the USA have health insurance through their employers or independent insurance companies who basically have no regulation. Others have medical care paid by the state or federal government either after they reach retirement age or are disabled or work for a state or government agency. In recent years medical care has more than tripled in cost and many here are not capable to pay for health care insurance . So, the end result is those of us who do have insurance are directly subsidising those who don't. The rising cost for health care is very likely to escalate to a crisis soon if something isn't done.
Tomorrow when Health Care Reform is signed by Obama - it will mark the beginning of a change that many many of us have been hoping for for decades. No, the package is far from everything that any of us wanted - but it's a start. Hopefully it's the beginning of change of one of many facets of our society that has been desperately in need of overhauling. Personally I hope this health care reform package is modified to the satisfaction of all Americans so that we can begin to narrow the gap of this great division in oue country.
I have badgered some of you who think differently than I do. But the truth be known, the negativity, hatred and animosity in this country has sickened me to the core. It's as if a great dark cloud has blanketed our land and brought out the worst in everyone. ( myself included ) Again, I sincerely hope these issues before us all are soon brought to amicable solution - so that we as a nation can begin to recover the pride we all once had, with who we are and where we live.
jvaski Forum Posts (9,576)
Bridging The GREAT DIVIDE !
I LOVE the smell of new ones being ripped in the evening !!