Re:Taxpayers spend 22% more per patient to support Medicare ...
by int_19h on Monday December 09, 2024 @01:47PM
(#42369146)
Health insurance is mandatory.
Public system has strictly defined coverage and tightly regulated premiums that are explicitly decoupled from individual health conditions and tied to percentage of salary instead. But providers themselves are decentralized and one is free to choose any provider that complies with all the govt requirements. Private providers can and do exist.
In some cases - e.g. self-employment, or income above a certain threshold - one can opt out of the public system and go fully private. Switching back is then only possible if income drops below the threshold. In practice, 90% of the population is in the public system.
Public system has strictly defined coverage and tightly regulated premiums that are explicitly decoupled from individual health conditions and tied to percentage of salary instead. But providers themselves are decentralized and one is free to choose any provider that complies with all the govt requirements. Private providers can and do exist.
In some cases - e.g. self-employment, or income above a certain threshold - one can opt out of the public system and go fully private. Switching back is then only possible if income drops below the threshold. In practice, 90% of the population is in the public system.