National health insurance

National health insurance is health insurance that insures a national population for the costs of health care and usually is instituted as a program of healthcare reform. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector, or a combination of both. Funding mechanisms vary with the particular program and country. Therefore National health insurance does not equate to government run or government financed health care, but is usually established by national legislation.
Types of programs
Some countries implement national health insurance through a national insurance fund operated by the government from which medical expenses are paid. These services are provided by private health care providers. This is known in the United States as single-payer health care, and if US Medicare were expanded and covered all Americans (Medicare for All), it would be considered national health insurance. A 2008 survey shows that a majority of US physicians (by almost 2 to 1), favor national health insurance. Two existing examples of this type of program are Australia's Medicare and Canada's health insurance system.
In other programs, the funds can only be spent on health services commissioned by the government. An example of this is the UK's National Health Service.
National schemes have the advantage that the pool or pools tend to be very very large and reflective of the national population. Health care costs, which tend to be high at certain stages in life such as during pregnancy and childbirth and especially in the last few years of life can be paid into the pool over a lifetime and be higher when earnings capacity is greatest to meet costs incurred at times when earnings capacity is low or non existent. This differs from the private insurance schemes that operate in some countries which tend to price insurance year on year according to health risks such as age, family history, previous illnesses, and height/weight ratios. Thus some people tend to have to pay more for their health insurance when they are sick and/or are least able to afford it. These factors are not taken into consideration in NHI schemes. In private schemes in competitve insurance markets, these activities by insurance companies tend to act against the the basic principles of insurance which is group solidarity.
Some countries implement national health insurance by legislation requiring compulsory contributions to competing insurance funds. These funds (which may be run by public bodies, private for-profit companies, or private non-profit companies), must provide a minimum standard of coverage and are not allowed to discriminate between patients by charging different rates according to age, occupation, or previous health status. To protect the interest of both patients and insurance companies, the government establishes an equalization pool to spread risks between the various funds. The government may also contribute to the equalization pool as a form of health care subsidy.
Other countries are largely funded by contributions by employers and employees to sickness funds. With these programs, funds do not come from the government, and neither from direct private payments. This system operates in countries such as Germany and Belgium. These countries have so-called social health insurance systems, characterized by the presence of sickness funds, which can be based on professional, regional, religious, or political affiliation. Usually characterization is a matter of degree: systems are mixes of these three sources of funds (private, employer-employee contributions, and national/sub-national taxes). These funds are usually not for profit institutions run solely for the benefit of their members.
In addition to direct medical costs, some national insurance plans also provide compensation for loss of work due to ill-health, or may be part of wider social insurance plans covering things such as pensions, unemployment, occupational retraining, and financial support for students.
National health insurance schemes
Health care in Ghana - National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)
Health care in Colombia - Law 100 - National Health Insurance Scheme: Contributory Vs. Subsidized coverage (NHIS)
Health care in Japan - People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments.
Health care in South Korea
Health care in Switzerland - A compulsory health insurance covers a range of treatments which are set out in detail in the Federal Act.
Health care in Taiwan - National Health Insurance (NHI)
Health care in Nigeria - National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)