Health Care System

While WHO is talking about how to reorganize the health care systems, I actually want to enclose from mundane facts how different every health care system country-wise is. From health insurance affordability, appointments making, to quarantine policies. If, and only if, the health care systems are similar does the comparison make sense.

Does the health care system influence the Covid infectious rate? If so, which system stands out? A further question might be that, how could we change the national policies, or encourage citizens to choose the policies that benefit the others the most?

Assumptions, of course, are that these countries themselves be honest about the figures they presented.

Now, imagine ourselves feeling ill and need to go to doctors in the following countries:

• Taiwan
• Hong Kong
• France
• Germany
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Spain

Taiwan

In Taiwan everyone is included in the health insurance system. The individuals pay from 50 USD to 90 USD per month for the health care, which constitutes 1.5% of the individuals’ brutto income. The unemployed pay about 30 USD per month. Dental check is 3 USD each time. The Government takes care of the rest of the fees.

When I feel ill, I google the nearest specialist or generalist and make phone calls for an appointment.

— Charge: 4 -6 USD for registration fee at the family doctor’s, medication fees rarely charged, the most expensive case being 20 USD for antidepressant.

— Time delay between calling for an appointment and having the appointment: 0

— Choice of doctors: Free

//Family Doctors to Residents Ratio: 4000

Germany

In Germany generally people pay around 100 Euros for public health insurance. Public in the sense that the government pays for private health insurance sectors. So you might go to A or B for health insurance, but the fees are roughly the same.

If I feel ill, I google the specialist or generalist and make phone calls for appointment. The appointment takes place usually after 3 weeks to 3 months. I was having severe insomnia and needed drugs for sleep. And if one’s new to the region, usually the clinics are already full with patron patients and do not accept new ones. That was why I had to wait for 3 months for an appointment. If I couldn’t stand the pain or waiting time, I could go to emergencies the day the accident happened— -my experiences were to wait for at least 5 to 8 hours to be treated.

— Charge: Insurance around 100 Euro per month. No registration fee needed. Medications are subsidized by health insurance and hence I pay from 5 to 10 euros.

— Time delay between calling for an appointment and having the appointment: from 3 weeks to 3 months.

— Choice of doctors: no restriction from the health insurance policies, but you have to get an appointment first.

Belgium

I was living in Belgium for 8 months as an intern, and was meanwhile paying for German health insurance.

The German insurance card is valid in Belgium, and I paid extra fees to compensate for the different price levels between Belgium and Germany, which was around 100 euros.

— Charge: Insurance around 200 Euros per month. No registration fee needed. Medications are at one’s own expenses.

— Time delay between calling for an appointment and having the appointment: 0.

— Choice of doctors: Free

Switzerland

Switzerland is the country that freaked me out with its health insurance system. Because I really couldn’t afford going to doctors.

Switzerland has the ‘deductible policies.’ Based on how much you paid for health insurance company, you have to accumulate to certain amount such that the insurance sector starts to reimburse you up to 90%.

In my case, I paid 550 CHF per month to the health insurance sector, and had to pay the doctors until the amount reaches 2500 CHF annually such that the health insurance company started to reimburse me up to 90% .

So, before you reach the amount of 2500 CHF, you could choose to either panic to death to save money or go to the doctors to get broke.

This monetary issue aggregated my mental issues in Switzerland because I was always struggling between going to doctors or saving money. And then nightmares about health insurance bills severated my insomnia, quickly it became a vicious circle.

Worse even, I got sexually harassed by a medical doctor. And there was, not to my knowledge, a safe way to be anonymous and report the issue to.

— Charge: Insurance around 550 CHF per month. Medications, if reaching the reimbursement threshold, are reimbursed with up to 90%.

— Time delay between calling for an appointment and having the appointment: a week.

— Choice of doctors: Free

Spain

— — To be continued.