Paul Krugman, in today’s News & Observer, claims that ObamaCare is a move to make the U.S. health care system more like Switzerland’s.
What makes the Swiss system effective, however, are market-based elements that are directly opposite the direction in health care legislation. Swiss patients pay one-third of their health care costs on their own, compared to one-eighth in America. The Swiss government pays only one-fourth of health care costs, compared to the U.S. government’s one-half. These two elements help keep waits down and care up in Switzerland.
Despite this, health care spending in Switzerland is second only to the United States, at 11.5 percent of GDP. The Swiss system still has significant variations in care and cost among cantons just as we have among counties and states. Also, costs in Switzerland are rapidly rising.
