East Germany maintained the Bismarckian model of universal and comprehensive healthcare coverage by organizing a single, state-managed health insurance network. Initially, the East German healthcare service achieved some success, most notably in the areas of maternal care and ambulatory care centers and polyclinics – multispecialty groups of salaried physicians working in conjunction with public health workers, social workers, and other personnel. Nearly eighty-nine percent of the East German population was insured through the Free German Trade Union, which was a trade union federation in East Germany. Since the East German government’s top priority was increasing the labor pool, it was vital for women to bear children to replenish the nation’s
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Therefore, the East German health insurance system included a variety of child-centered programs; they included child-care programs at the work site, maternal and child healthcare initiatives with financial inducements to encourage participation, and school health programs. Furthermore, East German parents were offered monthly financial allowances for each child, interest-free housing loans, and a DM 1,000 cash bonus per infant. However, these programs did not solve East Germany’s labor shortage, nor did they reduce infant mortality rate or extend life expectancy. In Volker Gransow’s perspective, the healthcare system of the former GDR only gained temporary success: “the problems with the former GDR healthcare system and its failure stems from a deeper issue: the structure, measurement, and nature of healthcare delivery.” According to available figures, the system of healthcare in East Germany under the Soviet model did not achieve comparable improvements to that of West Germany, which had better health and longevity in the postwar period. From the year 1968, the following statistics demonstrate the problems and difficulties of healthcare in East Germany. Although the inpatient care was estimated to include 543 hospitals with 165,950 beds, there was only 362 registered doctors in the former
Therefore, the East German health insurance system included a variety of child-centered programs; they included child-care programs at the work site, maternal and child healthcare initiatives with financial inducements to encourage participation, and school health programs. Furthermore, East German parents were offered monthly financial allowances for each child, interest-free housing loans, and a DM 1,000 cash bonus per infant. However, these programs did not solve East Germany’s labor shortage, nor did they reduce infant mortality rate or extend life expectancy. In Volker Gransow’s perspective, the healthcare system of the former GDR only gained temporary success: “the problems with the former GDR healthcare system and its failure stems from a deeper issue: the structure, measurement, and nature of healthcare delivery.” According to available figures, the system of healthcare in East Germany under the Soviet model did not achieve comparable improvements to that of West Germany, which had better health and longevity in the postwar period. From the year 1968, the following statistics demonstrate the problems and difficulties of healthcare in East Germany. Although the inpatient care was estimated to include 543 hospitals with 165,950 beds, there was only 362 registered doctors in the former