By Caroline Azad
Within the European Union each country has its own health system. According to Eurobarometer, 64 per cent of Europeans seem to be satisfied, with the Belgians the most satisfied at 93 per cent, followed by French and Germans. Only 22 per cent of Bulgarians are satisfied, who feel neglected and subjected by too much corruption in the health system of a country still in transition.
Generally, there are three main models of health care among the force member countries of the European Union.
The first system is the Bismarckian system as promoted in Belgium, France and Germany, that health insurance is guaranteed in exchange for free labour. The second, from the United Kingdom and applied in most European countries is the beveridge system in which the state guarantee health care according to one’s income. Finally, the third is a mixture of the two.
According to Mathieu Grosch, member of European Parliament, “health systems in Europe are generally good and a long-term goal is a European model of health care”.
The important contribution of Belgian workers guaranteed free access to every citizen, regardless of income.
Faced with a growing demand for quality health care among the population of Europe, the European Commission recommends more collaboration among health systems in 27 countries. The main obstacle is the finance reform.
The demand for health care increased to 5 per cent while the EU average growth at 2 per cent. He must find a balance between the different systems.
Although the English health care system is heavily criticized outside the borders of Great Britain, Mathieu Grosch says that “a system of health care at two speeds, as that applied in the United Kingdom which provides a system according to the riches is not in itself a bad system. A bad system is a system that does not work. The important thing is to avoid a two tier system. Each country should retain control of its health system while sharing his expertise.”
Such sharing of expertise in health care would be the basic constituent of a European health system at large.
Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who chairs the Council of the European Union until June, will make the fight against tourism health care “a priority”.
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