John Goodman discusses the Swiss health care system in his October 19, 2009 post, "Swiss Health Care: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".
One point I'd like to make is that the good aspect (i.e., the fact that health insurance is "individually owned, personal, and portable" would naturally happen in a free market, and would not require an individual mandate. As Goodman points out in the sections on the bad and the ugly, new regulations are driving insurance costs and and reducing patients' ability to retain a desirable plan.
In other words, the good elements of the Swiss system are present despite the mandates and regulations, not because of it.
The blog of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM)
