Essay Example about Germany's Healthcare

Germany is one of the countries that have the best healthcare systems in the world. In Germany, the government provides all the mechanisms that enable its citizens to access health care when they need it. This is courtesy of the Bismarck Model that was invented by Mr. Bismarck. The model requires that all citizens should have a health cover (Criticalcommons.org, 2015). Therefore, the government is the custodian of healthcare in Germany. However, the healthcare services are provided by private doctors who are very competent and efficient. As such, the citizens of Germany do not have any worry as to the quality of their healthcare as the private doctors guarantee it. Notably, private hospitals provide health services that are catered for by the government. Apart from the general health services, the German government also provides for mental, dental, and optical health services as well as alternative therapies such as spa.

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According to Criticalcommons.org (2015), the rich are allowed to opt out of the government healthcare system and pay privately. However, 90 percent of the Germanys opt to continue in the national system. Employed Germanys pay premiums to the existing 240 Sickness Funds that exist all over the whole country. These premiums are based on the amount of income that individuals earn. The companies that receive these premiums are the ones referred to as Sickness Funds. If a worker earns $60,000 a month, he/she pays $750 premiums for the whole family in every month. The employer is tasked with deducting and submitting the premiums to the Sickness Fund. The rich pay for the poor because the fund is like a social welfare whereby by they are accumulated. On the same note, pregnant women do not pay for any check up.

Those who lose their jobs remain in the insurance system since they are likely to get ill. The insurance companies in Germany compete for customers depending on the health covers that they give them. They are, however, supposed to offer services and not make profits. Besides, the management of the sickness funds is paid well if the fund grows over a certain period. In Germany, the quality of the healthcare is excellent while the services proffered are top notch. The healthcare providers negotiate with the Sickness Funds on the amount that is going to be spent on treatment.

Most of the doctors in Germany feel that they are undervalued and underpaid compared to other countries like Japan. The doctors claim that they are poorly paid considering that they offer a lot of expensive services. The prices of their services are negotiated every year taking into account the current market rates. The waiting time for patients is just like the one in the US, although, it is better than that of Britain. There are low malpractice premiums of family doctors in $14,000 a year. The medical schools are free such that the students do not have to pay any fee. However, the salaries that the private doctors earn are about two-thirds of that earned by the same doctors in the United States.

In conclusion, Germany is one of those countries who are very conscious of their health systems. As such, the government provides mechanisms for the provision of universal healthcare. The insurance companies known as the Sickness Funds are responsible for providing covers to the citizens, the rich pay premiums for the poor while pregnant women do not pay any fee. However, German doctors are paid two-thirds what the American doctors are paid. The medical students do not pay any fees because the state covers their fees. In my opinion, the Germans have the best health cover in the world.

References

Criticalcommons.org,. (2015). Sick Around the World (Germany). Retrieved 9 November 2015, from http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/Ghent/clips/saw_germany.mp4/view