The purpose of a healthcare system is to preserve the life and well-being of the citizens of a country. In this paper I will be both comparing and contrasting the healthcare systems of the United States and Germany. I will be looking at cost to consumers, coverage of health care and personal choices about your own health care. The average cost of insurance for an American family is approximately $17,000 per year with health care insurance companies raising rates almost every year. Insurance offered through employers is usually at least partially paid by the employer. Health insurance is mandatory for all families and people face large tax fees if they are uninsured. Germany also has mandatory health insurance for all of it’s citizens. German …show more content…
In this paper I will be both comparing and contrasting the healthcare systems of the United States and Germany. I will be looking at cost to consumers, coverage of health care and personal choices about your own health care. The average cost of insurance for an American family is approximately $17,000 per year with health care insurance companies raising rates almost every year. Insurance offered through employers is usually at least partially paid by the employer. Health insurance is mandatory for all families and people face large tax fees if they are uninsured. Germany also has mandatory health insurance for all of it’s citizens. German insurance fees are based on income and are approximately 15% of your income, with employers paying approximately 7%. The options for health insurance in the US include the government-regulated health insurance, employer offered health insurance or private insurance as well as Medicaid or Medicare if you qualify. There are three options for health insurance in Germany. These are the government-regulated health insurance, private insurance or a combination of the two. The private insurance is only used by the wealthiest members of German society, while 85% of it’s citizens use the government-regulated health …show more content…
In contrast, Germans who need medical care often pay very little for copays as well as very little for out-of-pocket expenses. In the United States there are usually several choices of which doctor you wish to see and a complicated system of in and out of network providers, but you can choose to see the doctor you want to see within this system. In Germany, if you are using the government-regulated health care plan you need to see whichever doctor is available at your nearest hospital and you have fewer choices. However you do have more choices over your provider if you use the more expensive private insurance. In conclusion, I think the best feature of the United States insurance is the choices to available to consumers, while the best of the German system is less out-of-pocket expense at the time you need medical treatment. Both systems have their positives and negatives and can be very confusing to try to figure out. Overall, I think I would prefer to be covered under the German system at this point due to its lack of cost at the time when I would need it most. Within this system I would prefer to use the government-regulated system and supplement it with some private insurance so I could have more choices while keeping my cost