By GottaLaff

Gee, I hope it’s okay to talk about Europe in a positive light. Specifically, Switzerland. I know it’s wrong. I know it’s unAmerican. But I just. Can’t. Help myself. Can you ever forgive me? Yeahwhatever:

At least one country already has a healthcare plan roughly similar to the one President Obama and the Democrats have proposed, with universal coverage, a mandate that everyone buy insurance and a major role for private insurance companies: Switzerland. [...]

Here’s how the Swiss system works: Everyone is required to buy basic health insurance from one of several private companies; the government subsidizes the cost for low-income families. Consumers can choose any insurer and go to any doctor — more choice than most Americans now enjoy. The government prescribes what the policies will cover, sets the price and tells doctors what they can charge for every medical procedure. Doctors are free to do whatever they feel is called for, order up any test and prescribe any approved medication. But if a doctor’s billings exceed the regional median by too much, he or she will get a “blue letter” — a bill from the government demanding the return of some of those fees.

By world standards, Swiss medicine is very good. [...] Swiss patients don’t wait long for treatment either. “If you need an MRI, I can arrange one tonight or tomorrow,” Meile said. And they pay a lot less than we do. [...]

The unrelenting rise in costs has been the single biggest disappointment in the Swiss universal coverage system [...]

Here’s what struck me most about Meile’s practice: All of his patients have the same basic insurance policy [...] None of them has to worry about going broke because of medical bills.

And here’s what struck me about his clinic: [...] No billing department, no bookkeepers. [...]

One lesson of Switzerland’s experience is that near-universal coverage is possible without a government-run “public option.” Swiss health insurance is provided entirely by private companies, even for the elderly. [...] By law, the basic insurance plans are nonprofit, but companies use them to attract customers to their for-profit lines of business.

Another lesson: Cost containment is very, very difficult [...]

A third lesson: Don’t expect miracles. [...]

Still, they get medical care as good or better than ours, at a cost that’s significantly smaller. They must be doing something right.

I hear that Switzerland is just a stone’s throw from France. Zut! There goes the neighborhood.

I left out a lot. Go here for more.

Oh, and IMHO, three words: Medicare for all.