Do you really believe that in France, all medical studies are fully paid by the government? You are fooling yourself!
Medical studies are expensive all over the world. . .not as much in Europe, and there are tax subsidies for "qualified" applicants to medical school, but it is still a time consuming, and very expensive venture for every medical student. My niece is currently in medical school in Belgium. Her father was an anesthesiologist (he unfortunately died of cancer a few years ago), my other nephew is also an anesthesiologist who selected (because of the cost of medical school) to go into the military to get his education and training as an anesthesiologist.
You are spreading misleading information. Medical school is NOT free in European country, and the entry exam is VERY difficult. In fact, they have a quota of how many students they will accept in the medical program, and even some qualified applicants are refused each year!
Yet, when they do graduate, they do not make the huge income physicians make in the U.S.. . .
And they do have enough physicians that THEY can afford to man the "Doctors without border" charitable institution, one of the most worthy charity in the world.
We are not getting better treatment!. . .especially for those who can't get ANY treatment at all! I have lived in France (4 years), Belgium (20 years), England (4 years), I have extensively visited both Italy (where my brother lives for part of the year, and where he had a massive heart attack and was hospitalized for 4 weeks) and Portugal, and there is NO WAY I got inferior treatment in any of those countries.
Obviously health care is going up all over the world! The population is getting older, and we live longer. Also, the technology gets more and more intricate and this also costs money! The point is that, in most other developed country, EVERYONE has access to affordable health care, not just those who can easily afford the huge increased due mosty to private industry wanting to keep their profit, their bonuses (and their stocks) up!
And, by the way, there is a much higher level of regulation on any "over the counter" medication and natural supplements! So you are also mistaken about that!
