Argumentative Essay: The German Healthcare System

Unlike in the United States, people who are living in poverty do not have to worry about whether they can afford healthcare. Those who make less than $68,336 a year automatically receive benefits through SHI (Clarke & Bidgood, 2013). Premiums are based on financial ability rather than age, gender or certain health risks (Rychlik, Guntertgomann, Kilburg, & Frazier, 2000). Low-income households are only required to pay 1% of their income out-of-pocket compared to the 2% that other households are required (DiPiero, 2004). In addition, they have low or no deductibles and their co-payments are waived (DiPiero, 2004). Those who are unemployed and receiving assistance from the government, contribute a portion of their entitlement to health care (Blumel …show more content…
Perhaps the best part of the system is that everyone in the country has access to high quality healthcare. Another great aspect of SHI is that citizens pay based on their ability rather than their health, gender or age (Blumel & Busse, 2015). Citizens in Germany also have many choices when it comes to their healthcare. They are free to choose their doctor, specialists and hospitals without restrictions (Blumel & Busse, 2015). Germany is unique in that it allows for wealthy citizens to opt for private insurance in addition to or separate from public health insurance (Blumel & Busse, 2015). To ensure quality of care, all doctors who wish to open their own practice, are required to dedicate themselves to six years if hospital based work prior to opening their own practice (Clarke & Bidgood, 2013). This ensures that all doctors working in the private sector are well trained and providing the highest quality care. Although there are many positives to the German healthcare system, there is no denying that cost has been a major issue for the German government. Furthermore, as the ageing population rises, Germany is going to experience continuing rises in costs. Overall, the public health insurance system in Germany does what it was intended to do. It covers all citizens and ensures that everyone has access to high quality healthcare. When asked, most low-income German citizens were confident that they were receiving high quality care (Schoen et al., 2010). If the same question was asked to low-income citizens in the United States, there would surely be a different answer. The German public healthcare system is a great example for all industrialized countries, and should be continued to be used as a