Mandated Health Care in Deutschland

Ashley Vastag

How it started

• Otto Von Bismark, in order to quell the rise of communism, started the Imperial Insurance Order in 1883

• This ordered low-income citizens, who were falling ill with no way to pay for healthcare, to pay premiums to “friendly societies”

• These “friendly societies” are now called Sickness Funds, which became the world’s first government-regulated healthcare system

• During WWII, Hitler exported the system to other countries, and it became well known as the Bismark Model

• It is still one of the best, because it blends a private health-care delivery system with universal coverage and social solidarity. 

Otto Von Bismarck creates the first Health Insurance

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/19/bismarck-life-jonathan-steinberg-review

How it works

• It is run by public and private companies, but 90% are covered by public companies.

• Health Insurance is given by companies/employers, but you get to choose the insurance company out of 145 non-profit companies

• Employer pays half of premium, and worker pays half of premium

• Self-employed still must have Health Insurance, they just choose their own private company

• Worker receives a card, which is taken to the visit to the hospital. The doctor swipes the card and enters what he did, then gets paid two weeks later.

Everyone receives a Gesundheitskarte, an insurance card

http://www.computerwoche.de/a/startschuss-fuer-elektronische-gesundheitskarte,1906636

Why it works• Germans think that everyone should be helped when they are sick.

• It is an easier system, with less cost and hassle to the government and people

• “You just cannot have people falling through the grid because they don’t have health care because they are not healthy. That’s the basis for everything, people’s health. Everybody pays a lot for sick people. You pay a lot less when you stay healthy than if you get sick. You cannot celebrate your own health when your neighbor is completely falling apart. And I don’t think people should lose sight of that.”

•  Everyone has to take part -- sick and healthy people -- for the system to work.

• A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce. The country has relatively low unemployment and in many sectors the economy is booming.

Everyone gets the healthcare they need without worry, so they can return to their jobs and their lives

http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01430/surgery.html

Pop Quiz!

• In Germany, which form of Health Care is more popular?

– Public

– Private

• Self-employed people must still have Health Insurance

– True

– False

Answers

• Public

• True

Works Cited

• Why Germans Don’t Have A Problem With Mandated Health Care• http://www.theworld.org/2012/03/germany-health-care/

• Health Care Abroad: Germany– http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health-care-abroad-germany/

• Health insurance– http://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Health_insurance

http://www.ratgeberzentrale.de/rubriken/gesundheit-wellness-ernaehrung/artikel/der-traum-vom-aufstieg-in-die-erste-klasse.html