Right up front I am admitting that this piece is a bit political. I am not picking sides, but my message is pretty transparent. Please bear with me. I’m in Europe and things look a lot different here. I am going to stick to two topics. We are going to hear a lot more about these in the near future. I will do my best not to mislead or misstate the facts.
Healthcare – Here in France, healthcare is not really any more socialized than in the U.S., it’s just run in a different way. Healthcare is viewed as a basic right. Not an “endowed by their Creator” sort of right, more of a social contract. Healthy citizens are good for society, or so Europeans believe. I think that Americans believe this too for the most part, but we are split on how to make it happen. If free markets were capable of doing this, don’t you think it would have happened by now?
France has a national health system for most people, but anyone who wants private healthcare services can get those too. In the national system, members and employers pay taxes to fund care. When you go to a physician, you pay your co-pay (30% for normal care) and the insurance fund reimburses the rest within a few days. Sounds a little like Medicare, and hardly different than a PPO plan in the United States (except for the long wait to get paid). You choose your doctor, not the state. An office visit here costs less than $30. You can double that if you need a home visit. Hospital care is covered more generously. How can physicians provide care for so little? Let me count the ways. No student debt, no exorbitant liability insurance, no payment delays, and little or no staff. When you call for your appointment, most likely the doctor will confirm it herself. When you arrive at the office, she will be the first and last person you will see, face-to-face care like it was meant to be. The average primary care physician earns $95,000 here. It’s enough to afford a nice home, long vacations with the family, and a secure future retirement. Last thing – plan on paying about one-third the price of pharmaceuticals than you do in the U.S.A.
Education – This is another of those basic rights that society grants here. All education is free, from pre-school to university. The people believe this is an investment in their children and in the nation’s future. We in America used to believe this too. Something changed, and the United States is not the better for it. To gain entrance to a university, a student needs to qualify with very good grades and testing. About 52% go on to university-level studies (vs. 66% in the United States). Those who either are drawn to a trade, or have no interest in further academics, can enter a trade or technical school to receive training, also paid for. No one runs up $35,000 to $100,000 in student debt while earning a worthless certificate. This is a strictly American invention. These kids graduate at a higher rate than in the U.S., and everything they earn after graduation goes back into the economy. They have big banks here too, but they are not fattening their profits on the backs of students.
Well, those are the facts. Believe them or deny them. Are we better off by having former students paying off school debts well into their retirement years? Are we better off paying three times as much for healthcare than other western nations, and still having a certain percentage of our citizens bankrupted by a series of unfortunate events? Can we do better? You bet we can! Vote this year!
