Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development : Country Summary Report for France
Situated in Western Europe, France is a high-income country with a gross national income (GNI) above $40,000 per capita. While the overall picture of health status is good, France contains apparent contradictions. Life expectancy is overall better...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank Group, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/08/20272392/france-universal-health-coverage-inclusive-sustainable-development-country-summary-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20727 |
| Summary: | Situated in Western Europe, France is a
high-income country with a gross national income (GNI) above
$40,000 per capita. While the overall picture of health
status is good, France contains apparent contradictions.
Life expectancy is overall better than in many European
countries, but premature male deaths remain high due to
accidents, smoking, and alcoholism. Social and geographic
inequalities in health are substantial, to the disadvantage
of the northern parts of metropolitan France and overseas
departments and territories. The French system largely
relies on Bismarckian-based Statutory Health Insurance
(SHI), established after the Second World War. Universal
coverage was fully achieved in 2000 when a new law
(Universal Medical Coverage Act, or CMU by its French
acronym) expanded coverage to noncontributory low-income
groups. Financial sustainability of the model has been a
recurrent concern over the last three decades. Recent shifts
in the funding model and the introduction of spending
targets and efficiency measures have injected some
flexibility to the system. |
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