Advantages of social insurance

One advantage of European social insurance is that the standard and range of cover is linked to judgments about affordability made by people who are self sufficient through work. In Germany and France, people can see on their pay slips how much they are paying for health care and form a view about whether the cost is justified. The state guarantee reflects personal preferences to a greater extent than a system financed from taxes. Put another way, the French and Germans have found a way of making the market serve everyone.

The government's national plan for the NHS dismissed overseas alternatives because they failed the test of equity. But in which European countries would you find the widest gap between the standard of care enjoyed by the poorest people and the standard enjoyed by the rich? The people with most to lose are those who depend exclusively on the government for services. The wealthy can always take care of themselves. In countries such as Germany, France, and the …