The Compromise solution?

As promised here is what I know and understand about the health insurance system in Switzerland. First, some background.
Switzerland is a neutral country and has a very interesting government system. In my opinion, the Swiss have a form of government that can keep despots out of the system! Their executive branch is a--get this--collective presidency?! There is an executive council made up of seven executives who collectively hold the presidency and control of the executive branch! The four major parties in Switzerland are equally represented on the council based on population. Interesting! The legislature is very similar to our House and Senate and the judiciary is separate but equal just like it is in the USA. What would a seven member board look like in our executive branch based on voter registrations: 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats, 1 Independent, 1 Libertarian, 1 no party?! Think anything would get done?

So, back to health insurance. Once you understand the Swiss government it's easy to understand how they have a healthcare system unlike anyone else in the world. There is a law that says everyone in the country must have insurance--even visitors. The Swiss life expectancy is second only to Japan and they spend 2.7% of GDP on health care!!

The health insurance is not administered by the government but it is paid for by the government--kinda. The basic plan that covers everyone is funded by the government but administered by private companies. The system is set up so that no one pays more than 10% of their income to health insurance and if someone is poor (although poverty in Switzerland is minimal) the government subsidizes the cost on a graduated scale. The beauty of the system is that it is tightly regulated but every citizen buys insurance in the free market from over 100 companies. Because the individual has some skin in the game, there are naturally occurring cost controls--you control your insurance and coverage!

It isn't a perfect system for conservatives OR progressives because there are pieces of the puzzle that neither group will like but if Senator Rand Paul can get on board with a version of the system a compromise could be possible!

I would recommend further reading on this if you're interested--the more Americans who are educated on the Swiss system the better chance we have to reaching a REAL solution to fix the problems in our health insurance system! Forbes did a great article last year that can be found here http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2011/04/29/why-switzerland-has-the-worlds-best-health-care-system/