Germany’s Got Health Insurance Problems Too

America’s not the only country singing the health insurance blues.  Germany- a country that many other countries envy for their health insurance system- is running into money problems when it comes to covering their medical costs.

The German system is considered so excellent because of the high quality of care afforded to about 90% of the population.  Unfortunately, newer (and more expensive) treatments, along with an aging population requiring more of those treatments, is starting to strain their resources.

It’s an interesting system.  It works sort of like our Medicare taxes, in that about 15% of wages are taken off the top, half of which is covered by the person’s employer.  Now, there will be an additional premium paid to insurance companies to cover further costs… leading to a weird, complicated split-payer system that nobody seems to be sure how it will work out exactly.

Sounds a lot like our health care reform.

Anyway, I find it strangely comforting to hear that the USA isn’t the only place having problems figuring out how to handle medical care on a nation-wide basis.  Of course, by all accounts, Germans are actually GETTING SOMETHING for the taxes they’re paying out, while our medical coverage is, essentially, crap.

Would you be willing to replace your Medicare taxes with a 15% tax (half paid by your employer) if you knew you would get complete medical coverage?  Comment below!

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5guzm3Tm9sbQOZNc8iYGnuHuKNziwD9GPL59O3