Health Care

As an American, the term “Government health care” is supposed to scare me and make me mad and gather up my guns to get ready to fight for freedom and the American way.   However, the German system is an example to the rest of the world that a government health care system can work.

The German system, unlike what many people believe, is not paid for by massive takes collected by the government.  Rather, it is a blend of private and public sectors that work together to provide health care.  Companies are licensed by the government to provide health care.  German’s pay about 8% of their working wages to pay for this excellent health care.  One of the big advantages of German health care is the completeness of the coverage.  Companies do not try to get away with as little as possible.  You could even be paid by your healthcare provider to take care of your elderly parents rather than send them to a nursing home.  While the insurance is mandatory, I do not think this is too much of a negative because if your don’t make very much money, then your 8% is going to be less than the 8% of someone who does make a lot of money.  But both people get the same coverage!

In the American system, the pros and cons are much more extreme.  On the one hand, you have complete freedom to choose whatever type of coverage you want.  On the other hand if you do want really good coverage, you will probably be paying more like 18% of your wages for insurance.  If you want more affordable insurance payments, your deductable is likely going to be very high and unless you have a major injury, your insurance will likely never kick in.  However with the huge size of our country, both geometrically, and demographically, I don’t know if a German type system will work here because there is so much diversity in our country from one region to another, each with their different needs.