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Cynthetiq · 10-10-2007, 08:30 PM

I just found something I recall reading the other day

in the Iceland Review:

Quote:

09/26/2007 | 11:28

Healthcare System in Iceland Criticized
Pétur Blöndal, an MP for the Independence Party (Sjálfstaedisflokkurinn), says the healthcare system in Iceland is running at increased loss after hospital staff began encouraging patients to undergo expensive and unnecessary treatments.

“It is extremely destructive,” Blöndal said, referring to patients being submitted to hospital when they only need treatments during the day, because such treatments can be very expensive while hospitalization is free, Fréttabladid reports.

While the patient is spared the bill, the healthcare system has to cover it. One bed space at the National Hospital costs about ISK 60,000 (USD 962, EUR 680) for every 24 hours.

Sigursteinn Másson, chairman of the Organization of Handicapped in Iceland (OHI), agrees. “I know many employees within the health sector feel bad about charging high sums to people who often have little money,” Másson said. That’s why hospital staff often recommends unnecessary hospitalization, he explained.

Másson suggests all charges for healthcare service be suspended, but Blöndal does not agree that is the best solution.

The government’s agenda includes simplifying and lowering the cost of the healthcare system. But the system is “incredibly complex,” Blöndal said, adding that, “The goal is to even out the charges to lighten the burden on those who already have sums too high to pay.”

euro.who.int

Quote:

The Icelandic health system is characterized by the dominance of the public sector (see Table 3). It is financed 82.9% by the state, either directly from the state budget or indirectly through the State Social Security Institute (SSSI). State tax revenue is derived approximately 30% from personal and corporate income tax, 35% from value added tax (VAT), 10% from social security taxes, 5% from net wealth taxes and the rest from other sources. That portion of health care services that are not tax financed, answering to 17.1% of the total, is almost exclusively financed by direct household payments, primarily the private partial payment of specialist consultations, outpatient operations and dental care, as well as co-payments for pharmaceuticals.

Private health insurance hardly exists in Iceland, and health services provided by employers are very limited. As described above in Historical background, this arrangement has continued more or less unchanged for a long time, and there are no plans to change the main system of health care financing coverage.

According to the Health Services Act and the Act on the Rights of Patients, every citizen has the right to the best health service available at all times. persons who have been resident in Iceland for at least six months are entitled to health care. The Minister of Health and Social Security can issue exemption from the mandatory six-month period of residence. Necessary in cases of emergency may be paid even when the stipulated waiting period six months has not elapsed. The Minister can also decide that the SSSI pay according to international agreements the costs of medical assistance rendered to foreign nationals staying in Iceland temporarily. The law prohibits discrimination against patients on grounds of gender, religion, beliefs, nationality, race, skin colour, financial status, family relation or other status. Children under the age of 18, including stepchildren and foster children, covered by their parents’ health insurance. Opting out is not possible.

Please note the LAST words here, opting out is not possible. You MUST contribute to the fund. I also see that one pays about 60%+ in taxes to the state contribution.

One of the links that I read puts Icelandic healthcare as 40% of the national budget.

Quote:

All hospitals have excellent standards of medical care. Iceland runs one of the most expensive health-care systems in the world, the cost per capita being $1,353 (PPP value). The health-care system, as a whole, receives 40,5% (in 1989) of the national budget, education comes in second with 15%, while other categories are well below 10% each. The Icelandic health-care system is considered among the best in the world.