Health Care Comparison Between German and Us

762 Words4 Pages
Health Care Comparison between German and US The purpose of this paper is to make a comparison between the health care systems in two highly developed and industrialized countries: United States of America and Germany. It will describe the health care systems in the above nations and then compare them in regard to efficiency and equity. German’s health care system has its roots in the mutual aid societies, back in the 19th century. The German health care systems operates on the basis that social insurance is embodied in the social solidarity principle. This principle is firmly held and implies that the government has the obligation to provide various social benefit services to all its citizens. This medical care involves old age pension schemes, disability benefits, unemployment insurance, maternity welfare, and other social services. In the German health care system, all levels of government have certain responsibilities accorded to them. The role of the central government is to pass legislation on policies and jurisdiction. The state government is vested with the responsibility of hospital planning, management, and supervision of the sickness funds, as well as health attendants’ organizations (Susan, 2000). The local authorities are to supervise and manage the local hospitals, and public health programs initiated by the state and central governments. There are high levels of decentralization. The US does not have a nationwide health insurance system. The citizens interested in purchasing of health insurance policies do so in the private sector, or they are provide by government aided groups. In the US, private health insurance covers can be purchased from various profit oriented commercial insurance companies or from nonprofit making insurance companies. An approximated 84% of the US population is covered in either public or private health

More about Health Care Comparison Between German and Us

Open Document