Coming from Australia, the health system there can be best described as broken. Not slightly dented, or even worn out. It is simply broken.
I believe that health care for the people should be one of those things that needs to be free and be accessible for everyone. Australia is a developed country, and can provide plenty of advance health care, but unless you are able to afford private health insurance, that level care is usually not quite good enough. It usually takes too long to get something happening.
In Germany, My family and I have only the statutory health insurance. This is equivalent to Medicare in Australia. Even at this level of care, our entitlements are quite high. The care that they give to children is tremendous. All their prescribed medication are available without any further expenses, their visit to the doctors are also without any further expenses. The adult consultation is only charged at 10€ per quarter, but the medication incurs some expenses.
The hospital have a social worker that helps you with your home care, if required. This home care is part of your entitlement from the health insurance. Not only is home care available, assistance with the children are also possible. We are currently in the middle these discussions with our health insurance. I shall do another post when the details have finalised.
The German system is funded by the tax payers, very similar to the Medicare system. A percentage is calculated on your salary. I think that the Medicare system calculates the payment on the taxable income. The German system, calculates the gross income and the payable amount is capped.
4 comments:
Gute Besserung!
Mrs. 1976 and I also "only" have state-plan coverage, but we've been so impressed with it. I even had an in-patient procedure to remove an organ for 40€ out-of-pocket costs.
On the other hand, I hear plenty of local natives griping about the bureaucracy, (apparently) low quality of care, urgent-care wait times, etc. associated with the state insurance plans, and singing the praises of their private insurance policies.
I suppose it's the ideal situation: those unhappy with the state plan can opt out of it in favor or something that suits them better, and the rest of us, comparing Germany with public or private health care options we know from elsewhere, seem satisfied with the state plan, administered through an organization of our choice.
Gute Besserung from me also!!!!
I came from the unique position of having public and private health care. Only with my son's eye specialist did it seem to matter that we had private insurance. Before I told him we had private insurance, the wait time was 3 months. After I explained we had private insurance, the wait time was 1 week.
The children's insurance in Germany was amazing. The maternity coverage and coverage afterwards was amazing.
The only problem I can even think of was when they kept prescribing something like "raspberry tea leaf bath salts" when my son had a bad cough. But that is perhaps another post. :)
@cliff1976, I get the same strange comments from the locals about their health system. I guess that they haven't experienced the other health system.
I am definitely quite satisfy with our experience so far.
@Yelli, that is extremely interesting as we have experience the opposite. My eldest son had ptosis, and was operated upon at the Augen Klinik in Köln. The waiting period for the operation was 2 weeks after the surgeon had examined him. Mum stayed with him all through out the 4 days he was in the Augen Klinik. The cost to us was 0€. That is impressive!
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