Traditional sources of funding health care in Europe have been branded obsolete and unaffordable. The need for innovation has never been stronger and while some countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, are embracing change, others are resisting any significant overhaul. Indeed, the notion of free, state-backed health care is ingrained in the psyche of most Europeans.
Reformers want to reduce the state's role in health-care delivery and introduce a competitive element. Those against change are adamant that a health-care system without state involvement is health care without a heart. Good for the rich, calamitous for the poor. It is an issue heavily clouded by emotion. But many feel that without innovation, crumbling state-backed systems will collapse as they struggle to cope with aging populations, soaring overheads and, more recently, mounting budget deficits.
Note EU-Digest: It is always interesting to read the gloom and doom predictions about Europe (EU) by right-wing conservatives and their "mouth pieces" in the US and Britain. They always picture Europe's social well fare safety net as a bad example of political governance, specially when it comes to reducing budget deficits. Instead, maybe they should be looking at their own sacred conservative cows when cutting budget deficits, like military spending, or regulating the financial, chemical, medical, and pharmaceutical industry. After so many years in power conservatives still have not closed multi-national tax loopholes , reigned in the power of the oil industry, created a fair tax system, a national health care service, or an educational system which produces results. If Europe goes down that conservative road they would not only be crazy, but also be condemned to turning into a society where free choice is regulated only by market forces.
For more: Europe's Failing Health - WSJ.com
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