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Our initiative: Principal ideas

For our initiative we have done a poster: 

Also we have a twitter account to transmit our ideas and let people know how the European Sanitary Policy works:

@EU_HealthCare 

Top 10 of the countries with the best healthcare in Europe.

1. France  

France has the largest land area in Europe. In addition to the natural population growth, there are a number of migrants who come to France on an annual basis. About 65% of the population is between the age of 15 and 65. In this age range a person is considered at the peak of their productivity.

French health care is regarded as the best in the world. It was ranked 1st by the World Health Organisation in 2000.  France’s healthcare system is done through the social security system. It is estimated that almost 21% of an employee’s compensation, including employer contribution, is remitted to the government.

Healthcare is highly socialized. It does not discriminate by income levels; everyone is entitled to an equal level and quality of service in both public and private institutions. Everyone has the same rights. Anyone can consult any health practitioner unless he/she wishes to, in any public or private hospital or clinic. The poorest of the population and those suffering from long term illnesses are fully covered by the government.

The usual rates for professional consulting are €21 for a médicin traitant, €24 for children aged between two and six years old, and €25 for children under 2 years of age.

2. Italy

Italy is renowned for a high standard of healthcare. However, there are some things that need to be examined.

Despite reputations and considerable prejudices, Italy has a really acceptable healthcare system and a high standard of medical assistance. Italian doctors are well-trained and very passionate about their profession, and the private hospitals are comparable with any throughout the world. However, there are some state hospitals in Italy that are substandard, providing a comfort level below what most Northern Europeans and Americans would expect. These hospitals are normally found in Southern Italy. In light of this, expatriates, and Italians alike, prefer to consider private health insurance to cover the expensive costs of hospitalization and surgery, and to help combat the long waiting lists to that are common in most state systems.

3. San Marino

San Marino has a high quality of obligatory medical assistance, which is paid by the Estate. Healthcare is provided through a network of clinics and small hospital at a low cost. However, private healthcare is also available in the country. All the citizens of San Marino have equal access to the health law. Despite the high standard of healthcare, certain treatments must be conducted in hospitals outside of the country.

Citizens who belong to vulnerable groups of society such as pregnant women, diabetics or tuberculosis patients don’t have to pay any charges.

4. Andorra

The Andorran health and social security system is very similar to the French system. The Parliament, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Social Security Office (CASS) and the National Health Service (SAAS) govern health care in Andorra.

The main player in Andorran healthcare is CASS. It is responsible for collecting the funds to pay for health care services, agreeing the fee level of participating doctors, making pensions payments and compensation for employees who cannot attend work due to illness and medical treatment.

Contributions for the state health system come from the employed and are collected at source along with pension contributions. Employees on less than the minimum wage also pay social security contributions, but they are voluntary for people who are unemployed or self-employed.

Citizens can only join CASS if they are employed by an Andorran company or individual.

Citizens can register with the doctor of their choice. People seeking state medical care must make sure that their doctor is contracted into the CASS scheme.

Emergency care is available free for everyone including those without state health insurance.

Private doctors are allowed to conduct surgical, diagnostic and other treatment and in return; they have to commit to a number of hours each week where they will be on emergency call.

5. Malta

For Maltese citizens, health care services are entirely free. However, most foreign residents need private medical insurance. An exception is made for British passport holders as Malta has a reciprocal arrangement with the provision of health care with Britain.

All residents can access the Maltese National Health System. Many Maltese citizens opt for the services of private general practitioners and specialists.

6. Spain

It's based on universal healthcare (non-residents, tourists and even people living in the country illegally). People are never denied treatment. 

Tourists from EU countries receive free medical treatment in Spain for up to three months.

It works thanks to the public money. All citizens pay taxes, so every Spanish citizen has the right to have public health care. However, if you aren’t from Spain, even though you live in it, you need to have a Spanish nationality or the European card.

The European Health Insurance Card is valid for holidaymakers and temporary visitors who need to use the state health system. However, it doesn't cover your costs if you are travelling only to obtain medical treatment.

7 Austria

The nation of Austria has a two health care system, a public one which everyone has got access to it and a private one which individuals choose to completely pay for their care privately.

Austria's health care system was given 9th place by the World Health Organization (WHO) in their mid-00s international ranking.

The Austria Health organization is the same as in Spain and in mainly all the European countries.

8. Norway

In Norway, all public hospitals are funded from the national budget and run by four Regional Health Authorities (RHA) owned by the Ministry of Health and Care Services. In addition to the public hospitals, a few privately owned health clinics are at work.

All citizens are eligible for treatment free of charge in the public hospital system. According to the Patients' Rights Act, all citizens have the right to Free Hospital Choices.

9. Portugal

Although it is a little bit complicated to find public hospitals in rural locations and nearly impossible to find a private one, Portugal healthcare services has its advantages: almost every doctor speaks english, so you won't find difficulties when you need to speak with one of them.

The first improvements made in the Portuguese health care system were in 2002, and thanks to that, the system is now more effective. It's now available to all eligible population in Portugal and it works the same way as in other European Union country.

When an European foreign comes to portugal for a short period of time, he security health care is given by the EU healthcare agreement.

When someone wants to stay a long period of time, they can ask for the free basic healthcare.

Also, if you do not belong to the European Union you have to apply for private healthcare insurance so you can obtain medical treatment in Portugal.

10. Monaco 

Monaco has an excellent standard of healthcare. Healthcare in Monaco is available to all citizens. Private healthcare is also available in the country. 

The Caisses Sociales de Monaco (CSM) oversee the health service and all citizens are entitled by law to equal access to healthcare. Most citizens take out additional private insurance to cover the services and fees not paid by the state.

Citizens can register with the doctor of their choice; however, people seeking state medical care must make sure that their doctor is contracted by the CSM.  

Emergency care is available free for everyone including those without state health insurance.

Only doctors and consultants can prescribe medicine. Under this system, you pay less for some medicines if it has been prescribed by your doctor.

Our initiative

• What’s our initiative? Our initiative is to promote and share with everybody how the sanitary policy of the European Union and how it affects European citizens. We are going to create a poster in which we will exposed the different important points of the European health care.

• How did we organise it? What we did was talk the ten of us together and decided the idea. We still have to create the poster and then put it in our twitter account and facebook. 

• How will people become aware of the public health politic with our initiative? People will become aware of this policy with our initiative with our Twitter and Facebook account. The purpose for this account is to give the information necessary so that people know what they have to use if they go on a trip for holidays and so that people become aware that there are many European policies and that all of them affects our daily life.

Which health care systems are the best?

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the health systems of its 191 member states in its World Health Report in 2000. It examined and compared aspects of health systems all around the world. It was the organization's first ever analysis of the world's health systems.

1.   France                       

2.   Italy                            

3.   San Marino              

4.   Andorra                    

5.   Malta

6.   Singapore

7.   Spain

8.   Oman

9.   Austria

10.   Japan

As you can see, most of the best health systems are from Europe (more exactly, the European Union) thanks to the great sanitary policy in Europe .Also, Asia has a good health system. However, the health system of each country has been influenced by the politic and the culture. The democracy could has also influence in the health system because in the past mostly everybody where much more fatter than nowadays. Obviously in the lows positions are the countries who are poor because they don't have food and its systems don´t have the food need it.

Differences between the health care policy in Europe and other continents

The health care policy in Europe differ lot from health care policies of some continents and it is very similar to other continents.

• Europe, America, Australia: Although their health care policies aren’t the same, they are very similar. In my opinion this is related with the fact that they are developed continents. They  have a very strict, severe and specific health care politics, which have really huge consequences for the countries or companies which don’t follow these politics. It's destinated a lot of money from the public economic resources to this cause, which in my opinion is very important and it is a sign of how developed the continent (in general) is. The main difference between these continents health and care politics is that the European politic of health and care is much more public than the health care politic of the other continents. For example: In Europe if you need an operation you would have it immediately it doesn’t matter if you can’t afford it you would have it however. This doesn’t happen in most of the places, such as America, if your insurance doesn’t covers it you won’t have the operation, even if your life depends on it.

• Africa, Asia: These two continents are much more undeveloped than the other two and therefore their health care politics are similar. They are very global and when they are breached there aren’t almost consequences or even there aren’t any at all.

• Personal opinion: I think that the health care politics should be globalised so that everyone has the same right to be healthy. I also think that the more developed continents should push the undeveloped continents towards development.

Health policy in other continents

In 2000, at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations, the leaders from 189 countries agreed on the Millenium development goals, setting targets for a reduction of poverty. The two targets are:

• The "water target": - To halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015.
• The "sanitation target": To halve the proportion of people without access to a basic sanitation by 2015.

Health policy in Europe

Its main characteristic is that if you go on holidays to another country of the European Union, you need a doctor and you have your European Health Insurance Card with you, you have the same rights as local citizens. There has been a significant improvement in the health of Europe's population, that has been driven by factors inside and outside the sector of health.

Health policy in Asia

South Asia faces public health challenges. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are home to nearly one fifth of the world’s population. Two thirds of their population live on less than 1 dollar for a day. They have a low quality of life, high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality, very bad illnessess...
Not only this region faces health problems, they also have a poor sanitation, poor maternal health, poor access for a health service...

Health policy in America

The health care in the United States is provided by many different organizations. Health care facilities are owned and also operated by private sector businesses.

Most of the population under 67 is insured by their or a family member's employer, some buy health insurance on their own, and the rest haven't got a health insurance.

Health policy in Africa

There is a crisis in Africa's underdevelopment. One important thesis is that Western delivery systems have made health care very less accessible for most people. Problems are generated by the poor amount of food, inequality of access to facilities, the violation of human rights...

One major implication of this volume is that there can be no solution to the health crisis in Africa until there is a recognized link between health and poverty

Health policy in Oceania

Health care in Australia is provided by both private and government institutions. The federal Ministerial for Health administers national health policy, elements of which are operated by state governments.

The public health care is called Medicare and coexists with a private health system.