National health insurance is a program by a national or federal government to make sure all its citizens have health care coverage. All industrial countries except the United States have national health insurance, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in the U.S.

History

Germany under Bismarck passed the first national health insurance legislation in the 19th century. England followed in the early 20th century.

Government role

The government plays different roles in health care systems. It can manage the entire system, fund it, or merely regulate a system operated by health insurers.

Government-run system

In some systems, such as England's National Health Service, the government actually employs the doctors or has them under contract and operates the hospitals. This gives the government much more control over costs, but leaves medical professionals unsatisfied and can lead to rationing of health care.

Single-payer system

In a single-payer system like that in France, health providers are private but the government manages the fund that pays the bills for individuals. In the U.S., Medicare is a single-payer health insurance for individuals 65 and over.

Government-supervised

In other systems, coverage is provided by a variety of insurers, which are supervised and regulated by the national government. This can involve a mix of public and private insurers, as in Germany, or only private insurers, as in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Source:

Commonwealth Fund: The Swiss and Dutch Health Insurance Systems

BusinessWeek: The French Lesson In Health Care , July 9, 2007

Institute of Medicine: Insuring America's Health