German Healthcare system "Humanität besteht darin, nie zu opfern einen Menschen zu einem Zweck„ ~Albert Schweitzer By Shane Smith

Types of Healthcare There are four main systems of healthcare that are used around the world. 1) Beveridge 2) Bismarck 3) National 4) Out-of-Pocket

Beveridge Model The Beveridge healthcare system is named after William Beveridge The Beveridge model was created for Great Britain and is still the model they use to this very day Beveridge model is a fully government controlled healthcare system that is funded by the government and is paid for by taxes Pros to the Beveridge model is that many people in the countries that provide this type of healthcare don’t have to worry about how to pay for insurance Cons to the Beveridge model is that the government has to contain cost and in doing so have the right to tell people they must wait for certain types of treatment or that they cannot have certain test or medicines due to the fact they may be near their spending limit.

William Beveridge William Beveridge was an British economist. Lived March 5 th 1870 March 16 th 1963 Many of his publishing were done on welfare and social security. Became Master at Oxford University

Bismarck Model Named after the Prussian chancellor Otto Von Bismarck Originally designed for the reunification of Germany in the 19 th Century Similar to the type of healthcare you would see in the USA except that the Bismarck model is paid for by employers that often do payroll deductions to pay for the insurance Pros to the Bismarck model is that everybody will be covered and all expenses will be already paid for Cons to the Bismarck model is due to the lower cost of medical care many doctors start their own private practice therefore they do not have to follow all the same regulations and can sometimes charge for their services past the public insurance

Otto Von Bismarck Minister President of Prussia Fist Chancellor of United German in 1871 Created Healthcare system to stop immigration to the USA Lived from April 1 st 1815-July 30 th 1898

National Model The National incorporates both the Beveridge and Bismarck model The National model is paid for by every citizen through the government run program Offers both options of having either private or public healthcare Pros to the National model is that it offers the most possible coverage options for the people and also offers the possibility of lowered aspects of medicine Cons to the National model is that there are many regulations to keep the model running as efficiently as possible and this causes for a hard time trying to switch and sort of prior coverage you may have chosen. There are also requirements that must be satisfied for a citizen to branch away from the public insurance and get their own private insurance.

What is Public Healthcare? Public healthcare systems around the world all have one common goal. The goal is to give every citizen the equal right to medicine regardless of age, gender, race, or social status.

Private Healthcare in Germany The countries that offer the option between public and private insurances often have requirements that must be met and Germany is no exception. To acquire private healthcare in Germany you must make more then € or $62,068 The reason someone may try and acquire private healthcare over the public system would be for more coverage then the public system could provide. Germans may also supplement the public system by having both system if they feel the need for that amount of coverage.

What type of healthcare does Germany use? Germany is home to the worlds oldest form of universal healthcare in the world. The term Universal healthcare become well known and used to describe Germany’s healthcare system when many of the laws and regulations in Germany were amended from the traditional Bismarck model it once was.

Germany’s Healthcare history The start of Germany’s universal healthcare began in 1883 when Otto Von Bismarck had passed his Health Insurance bill. The bill that passed was used to establish the original Bismarck model for workers in Germany to try and keep the workers in Germany and strengthen their economy. With healthy workers building up companies that would keep the country in good financial standings.

History continued Bismarck shortly after passing his health insurance bill he then passed two more bills. First was the Accident Insurance bill of 1894 which helped to keep workers safe from going into poverty if they were injured at work and no longer had income. Second was the Old Age and Disability Act of 1898 which made sure that senior citizens and the disabled would not be left out of his original health insurance bill of 1893

History one more time! Bismarck's original model had been used for years in Germany but in the 1970’s the government had started to realize that it was starting to become less cost efficient as it once was. To solve the cost issue that Germany was facing with their insurance they decided to add co- payments to citizens that were over utilizing it and they put a cap on many of the procedures that could be done to try and avoid the system from collapsing on itself.

What do you get? All German citizens receive the same medical treatment under the Universal system as you would under the Private System Many doctors make house visits, and insist that patients schedule frequent checkups to prevent illness. All Germans receive the same medical treatment you would receive in the USA including in and out patient visits, prescriptions, emergency care, etc.

Misconceptions Misc: The most common misconceptions about Germany’s universal healthcare is that it all the hospitals are government owned and operated Fact: Germany’s government encourages privately owned hospitals because the competition helps to keep cost low for patients.

Misconceptions#2 Misc: Many people outside of Germany believe that Germany doesn't’t offer the same quality of treatment because of the universal healthcare and the cheaper medicines. Fact: Germans on average actually spend about 2-3 days longer in hospitals to recover then Americans. Misc: Germans can only choose the government run programs for insurance.

Misconceptions#3 Fact: Germans most often then not will choose to use the government run insurance programs but they also have a choice of 200 different private insurances to choose from also.

Innovations People also believe that the Universal System will constrict the Governments ability to fund research on new technology and cures. But Contrary to popular belief German has contributed about 20% of all medical research in the last 10 years around the world.

The Not so High Costs of Healthcare Germanys Healthcare system pays about 77% of all Medical procedures that happen within the year and the rest is due to the fact there are many people that use the private healthcare system. Germanys Healthcare system also requires that your employer has insurance for you and all of the Premiums that a patient must pay will be taken care of with the money they are regulated to take out for health insurance.

Healthcare differences in between Germany and the US Schooling Insurance Hospital Stays Prescription Market

Schooling To become a doctor in Germany you must attend a 5year undergraduate degree along with a internship which can vary from 2-4years. A major difference between Germany and the US is that medical school in Germany is an undergraduate program instead of a whole separate school.

Prescriptions Prescription pills are not legal to promote on TV in Germany The decrease in publicity towards these drugs has led to a drastic reduction in abuse of them Germanys healthcare system covers all but a small copay they citizens must pay.

Hospital stays in Germany Germany does not offer many of the same privacy during treatments When in a German hospital they often don’t check on a patient every 5 or so minutes like you could expect in a US hospital Most simple pre-operation or post-operation procedures are done in public The rooms are not private they are open and normally contain about 5 people

Conclusion and Analysis Germany has successfully run the worlds oldest Universal healthcare system with great success due to writing of new laws as they see fit with their own healthcare. The united States citizens are looking for a solution to the costly free-enterprise system that they use and I would strongly urge the United States to start moving into a similar direction to better the country's financial standpoint

Works Cited "Health Care Systems - Four Basic Models." Physicians for a National Health Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec "In What Country Is It Easiest to Become a Doctor?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec Porter, Michael E., and Clemens Guth. Redefining the German Healthcare System. Berlin: Springer, Print.