Health Care Systems In France
France provides the best possible overall health care in the whole world. This was stated according to the World Health Organization after its 2000 assessment of world health care systems. The statistics say that in 2005, France went on to spend 11.5 percent of its GDP on health care.
This figure is much higher as compared to the average spent by other European countries. In France, around eighty percent of the expenses related to health, are covered by the government. In certain cases the fees is absolutely waived off especially for the ones who earn less than 6000 euros a year.
The medecin generaliste (a French word) is responsible for the long term care in a population. This includes prevention, education, care of diseases and traumas. This takes care of only such cases where there is no need of any specialized treatment. They make calls to a patient's home if he or she is unable to come over to the consulting room. Ambulance care includes a basic care by general physicians. They are self employed. About one third of all the general practitioners work in groups. They do not have the gatekeeper's job in France as people look up on them and specialists during times of need. They are the ones who provide the emergency services to the people in need.
The personal preferences of people are reflected by the standard of healthcare here. However higher standards of healthcare is given to all and sundry.
Almost every healthcare status is managed by France and in the year it topped all the other health care systems of the world in a sort of ‘test' undertaken by WHO or the World Health Organization. The premiums on these insurances are charged as a particular percentage of the income and the complete cost of it is nearly 20 % of the whole payroll. This includes both the employees as well as the employer's contribution. As per studies in the last few years it has been observed that this regime has decreased the stress on the payroll of all the contributions. Very recently it was seen that the employers actually paid an amount that equated 12.8 % of the salary while the employees contributed 6.8 % however all this was changed all due to complaints as well as grievances from the side of the employers. The rate of contribution in case of the employees has been subsequently decreased from 5.5 % to an astonishing 0.75 % in a matter of only 4 years from 1997 to 2001. The French government here targets to take off the pressure of finance from the poorer sections that exist here. It has been seen that the French people enjoy the selection of a particular doctor and they also enjoy paying them and then reclaiming almost 75 % to 80 % of what they pay. GP gatekeepers are absolutely disliked by the French and there is no distinction made between public and private hospitals. About 65 % beds are available in case of the public hospitals while the rest are for private. No wonder the French healthcare system is considered to be one of the best in the world since it does think about the masses.