Question

How would you evaluate the social welfare programs in most European states? E.g., in England and France, almost all health care is covered from cradle to grave. Do you think such social systems would work in the United States? What do you think of the current talk about health care reform in the United States? Elaborate.

Answer 1

think the European and Canadian health care systems are demonstrably more efficient than our system. The fact is that in the USA we pay nearly *twice* what Europeans pay for health care, and we have both higher infant mortality and lower life expectancy than most European countries. In the table below, im = infant mortality and L = life expectancy. See http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004393.h... for infant mortality and life expectancy; seehttp://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/33/38979... for costs.

United States -- im= 6.4, L= 78.0, cost $7290, 16.0% of GDP
Canada --------- im= 4.6, L= 80.3, cost $3895, 10.1% of GDP

Austria -------- im= 4.5, L= 79.2, cost $3763, 10.1% of GDP
United Kingdom -- im= 5.0, L= 78.7, cost $2992, 8.4% of GDP
Denmark ------ im= 4.5, L= 78.0, cost $3362, 10.4% of GDP
Finland ------- im= 3.5, L= 78.7, cost $2840, 8.2% of GDP
France -------- im= 4.2, L= 79.9, cost $4763, 11.0% of GDP
Germany ------ im= 4.1, L= 79.0, cost $3527, 10.4% of GDP
Greece -------- im= 5.3, L= 79.4, cost $2727, 9.6% of GDP
Italy ----------- im= 5.7, L= 79.9, cost $2686, 8.7% of GDP
Norway ------- im= 3.6, L= 79.7, cost $4763, 8.9% of GDP
Spain --------- im= 4.3, L= 79.8, cost $2671, 8.5% of GDP
Sweden ------- im= 2.8, L= 80.6, cost $3323, 9.1% of GDP
Switzerland --- im= 4.3, L= 80.6, cost $4417, 10.8% of GDP

USA has 36 days longer life expectancy than these two countries!
Ireland ------- im= 5.2, L= 77.9, cost $3424, 7.6% of GDP
Portugal ----- im= 4.9, L= 77.9, cost $2150, 9.9% of GDP

According to David Frum (special assistant to president, 2001-2), between 2000 and 2007, the cost of the average insurance policy for a family of four doubled. See http://www.frumforum.com/the-bush-econom... In this question I show a back-of-the envelope estimate of the cost of maintaining the status quohttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;... We can't afford to maintain the status quo, but if we did it would cost $8 to $9 trillion spread over the next 10 years. John McCain agrees the current system is failing:http://www.protectpatientsnow.org/site/c...

Some folks blame high costs on malpractice insurance. But the numbers don't support that. A recent CBO estimate http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10641/10... says malpractice reform might save half a percent of expenditures. Another estimate: including legal fees, insurance costs, and payouts, the cost of the suits comes to less than 1.5 percent of health-care spending. See http://www.insurance-reform.org/pr/AIRhe... andhttp://makethemaccountable.com/myth/Risi... Along those lines, it's interesting to note that a number of states already have "caps and tort reform" yet the insurance companies have not lowered the cost of malpractice insurance in those states

Answer 2

The European and Canadian health care systems are demonstrably more efficient than our system

• The amount spent in US is nearly twice the amount spent by other countries like Europe and Canada on the health resources and management
• There is higher infant mortality and lower life expectancy than most European countries
• In countries like US, Doctors have fear of losing their degrees with small mistakes in handling the patients whereas in Europe very few doctors are removed from the position
  • The price of amount that is spend on each family in terms of health care has increased upto four times to better the services and providing better facilities

Answer 3

How would you evaluate the social welfare programs in most European states?

The European social model is a common vision many European states have for a society that combines economic growth with high living standards and good working conditions. Historian Tony Judt has argued that the European social model "binds Europe together" in contrast to the 'American way of life

France's Current Programs:

• Health Care

  Frances modern Social Security system developed in 1945-6 and slowly became the European Union's most complicated. Overall, the idea was for everyone to be covered by social insurance schemes or public assistance. Such funds included contributions for health care. Individuals insured under these schemes had their medical expenses (including those for pregnancies) and medicines paid for. The system was created in the post-war periods, when doctors wanted to remain independent so that patients had the freedom to be treated by a physician of their choice. As a result, doctors are paid directly and patients are subsequently reimbursed by the insurance. In the early 1980's a problem arose with too many elderly low-income people using the medical care.

• The Pension System

  The pension regime in France conforms to the pay-as- you-go system where the employer and employee both contribute to a retirement fund. As demographics change and the number of retirees increases relative to the number of people working and contributing, the system has encountered increasing difficulties. This was made worse when people were encouraged to retire at sixty.

• Family Insurance System

  In France, family allowances are universal and funded by the employer. Families will receive this money until the child is 16 (unless he or she continues his/her education), regardless of family income. Children with special needs are also fully provided for.

• The Housing System

  Housing was also part of the family assistance programs. In the post war period the government built social housing, and would also provide housing subsidies for families in need. In the 1980's mortgage subsidies were introduced, which were intended encouraged home ownership.

• The Education System

  The education system in France, while not part of the social security system, is nevertheless related to family policy. The French government committed substantial resources to education with the goal to improve educational attainment.

• The Unemployment Insurance

  Unemployment was originally not part of France's social security system, but is covered now by a variety of separate insurance schemes. Those who are entitled to unemployment insurance receive 35% of their previous income. As the French system is primarily based on insurance principle, non-contributory means tested programs had to be created for uninsured citizens. For the long-term unemployed, elderly, and disabled people, state funded social assistance was developed. The expensive social security system combined with high levels of unemployment pushed up labor cost, which has made French goods less competitive. France has yet to address this problem comprehensively.

To evaluate the different social models, we follow the criteria used in Boeri (2002) and Sapir (2005) which consider that a social model should satisfy the following:

1. Reduction in poverty.
2. Protection against labour market risks.
3. Rewards for labour participation.

Do you think such social systems would work in the United States?

United States welfare programs are constantly being evaluated and revised, as the arguments of what welfare means and who should benefit from it are contested. Many Americans argue that the U.S. needs to look to Europe for examples of what constitutes advanced social welfare programs, while others argue that those same programs will slip the government into the realm of socialism. European welfare programs are diverse, and Europe has both national and regional welfare programs that can serve as examples--whether good or bad.

The US south is actually quite quasi-Marxist in approach. There's the whole "don't get above your raising" idea down there and a general deep distrust of money and rich people.

I'm not a socialist, but the very poor, "give all to your neighbor" mindset in the rural south doesn't seem very far afield.

Many forms of Socialism are in their own way selfish.

What do you think of the current talk about health care reform in the United States?

ans)

The health care reform debate in the United States has been a political issue for many years, focusing upon increasing coverage, decreasing the cost and social burden of healthcare, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement. Following the election of Barack Obama as president, who campaigned heavily on accomplishing health care reform, thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was enacted in March 2010.

When you compare health status of Americans with health insurance coverage with other countries we compare favorably (better than most aggregate data from other countries). This is pretty good evidence that having health insurance coverage is important to improve health. However, there are other important factors that are not necessarily related to coverage, e.g. economic status, race, access, etc.

There is significant debate regarding the quality of the U.S. healthcare system relative to those of other countries. Physicians for a National Health Program, a political advocacy group, has claimed that a free market solution to health care provides a lower quality of care, with higher mortality rates, than publicly funded systems.

Some medical researchers say that patient satisfaction surveys are a poor way to evaluate medical care. Researchers at the RAND Corporation and the Department of Veterans Affairs asked 236 elderly patients in two different managed care plans to rate their care, then examined care in medical records, as reported in Annals of Internal Medicine. There was no correlation. "Patient ratings of health care are easy to obtain and report, but do not accurately measure the technical quality of medical care," said John T. Chang,UCLA, lead author.

The United States spends a higher proportion of its GDP on health care (19.3% in ref cited, but now 16%, lagging other rich countries) than any other country in the world, except for East Timor (Timor-Leste)

The number of employers who offer health insurance is declining. Costs for employer-paid health insurance are rising rapidly: since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78%, while wages have risen 19% and prices have risen 17%, according to a 2007 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Answer 4

How would you evaluate the social welfare programs in most European states? E.g., in England and France, almost all health care is covered from cradle to grave.

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European governments redistribute income amongst their citizens on a much larger scale
than does the United States government. European social programs are more generous
and reach a larger share of citizens. European tax systems are more progressive. Europe
has more intrusive regulations that are often meant to protect the poor.
The literature on