The German health care system: structure and changes

The German health care system has often been viewed by American policy makers as a model for a system that controls costs and provides coverage to virtually all of its citizens, while maintaining a private market for the delivery of most services. Nevertheless, German policy makers are as concerned as their American counterparts about the increasing share of national income devoted to health care. To control rising health care costs, the German government, after two decades of cost control interventions, has enacted a major health care reform aimed at reducing structural deficits of the current system and enhancing competition within the system. We review the general structure of the German health care system and analyze its specific problems. We also discuss its accomplishments and present the recently enacted health care reform.