Developments in Health Care: A Comparison of US and German Systems

This report provides a comprehensive comparison of the healthcare systems in the United States and Germany. It begins by examining the organizational structures of each system, highlighting the roles of public and private entities. The report then delves into the providers of healthcare services, detailing the involvement of both public and private organizations in each country. A key focus is on the eligibility criteria for healthcare coverage in both nations, clarifying who qualifies for services. The funding mechanisms are analyzed, contrasting the sources of financial support for healthcare in the US and Germany. Finally, the report identifies and discusses the major issues and challenges currently faced by each healthcare system, such as administrative inefficiencies, lack of insurance coverage, and funding concerns. The analysis provides a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each system and their implications for healthcare delivery.

Running head: DEVELOPMENTS IN HEALTH CARE
DEVELOPMENTS IN HEALTH CARE
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Organization of the health care system in US and Germany...........................................2
By whom is the health care provided in US and Germany..............................................3
Who all qualify for health care in US and Germany?.....................................................3
Funding of health care in US and Germany....................................................................4
Issues being faced by the current health care system......................................................4
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................5
References............................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The health care system or the health system incudes- the organization of institutions,
people, and other resources that are needed for delivering health care services that can help in
meeting the needs of the target population (Mossialos et al., 2016). The health dare system of
United Nations is the most expensive as the costs of availing health care services is continuously
increasing. The US health care system makes use of American health insurance system where the
patients pay their insurance fees to ensure that they are covered by the American health
insurance system (Boulware et al., 2016). On the other hand the German health care system is
considered as one of the best health care systems of the world. It is usually funded by different
statutory institution and also private health insurance. The main aim of the paper is to compare
and contrast the health care system of US and Germany. The paper will discuss about the health
care system organization in different countries, who all are responsible for providing health care
facilities, who all qualify for the health care services in US and Germany, funding of health care
system in US and Germany and the issues presently being faced by the health care system.
Discussion
Organization of the health care system in US and Germany
The health care system of US does not include a system that is universally accessible. It
is privately and publically funded as a patchwork of fragmented programs and systems
(Eckelman & Sherman, 2016). Americans who are insured are covered by both the private and
the public health care insurance and a majority of the Americans are covered with the help of
private insurance plans through employers. The population group of US that is most vulnerable
is provided coverage under the health care system through Medicare and Medicaid. On the other

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hand, the Health care system of Germany is a self-administered one and is also operated through
a number of players and institutions (Abul-Husn et al., 2016). Moreover the healthcare system
of Germany is divided into three main areas- rehabilitation facilities, inpatient care and
outpatient care. The institutions that are primarily responsible for organising the health care
system includes- representatives and associations of different profession, regulatory bodies,
health insurers, self-help groups and patient organizations.
By whom is the health care provided in US and Germany
Health in America is provided by both private and public players and organizations.
However the health care system of USA is dominated by the private financing than public
financing. This is so because only 30 % of the US population is covered by the insurance
preforms that are publically funded. These programs include- Medicare and MediCaid. The
government also regulates the Children health Insurance program or CHIP. On the other hand,
there are a number of private players that look after the health care needs of the insured
Americans such as the Employer sponsored plans, co-insurance and co-payments. On the other
hand, the German health care system is usually provided by both public and private organization.
some of the major public health care insurers includes- TK, AOK and Bramer GEK. On the other
hand some of the well-known private insurers included- the Alliance Private
Krankenversicherung (Busse & Howorth, 2019).
Who all qualify for health care in US and Germany?
In the US, in order to qualify under the health coverage, the citizens must be living in
United States, must be a citizen or national of US and they cannot be incarcerated. Moreover the
citizens are not eligible for buying dental or health program unless they have Medicare coverage.
On the other hand, in Germany, all the legal residents and Germans are eligible for free public

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healthcare that is medically necessary. However citizens are still required to have private health
insurance (Ehrich et al., 2016).
Funding of health care in US and Germany
The funding of healthcare in US is done from three main sources- the private health
insurers, private health individual and the government (Zerbo et al., 2019). About half of the
medical spending is covered by the federal government and also through various other health
care programs. The cost of availing health care services in US is much high than many other
countries. The health care facilities are provided by persons own funds, by government programs
and through private plans for health insurance. The German health care is funded by the statutory
contributions. In addition to that, private health insurance coverage is there that can help in
replacing the public healthcare facilities and services.
Issues being faced by the current health care system
The 3 major challenges that are being faced by the US health care system includes- lack
of insurance coverage. This is so because health insurance and health care are not the same and
therefore although almost all the Americans are insured it does not necessarily mean that
insurance will be able to improve the overall health care facilities. The second challenge faced by
the US health care services includes- administrative inefficiency in the health care system and
the third challenge facing the US health care systems includes- under-performance in the primary
care sector. On the other hand, some of the major problems or challenges being faced by the
health care system in Germany include- issues in the funding process, ambulatory care and
hospital management (Curry, Schlepper & Hemmings, 2019).

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Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion, it can be concluded that there is a lot of different
between the health care systems of US and Germany. These differences are usually in relation to
organization of health acre system in US and Germany, who are the health care providers, who
all qualify for the health care services in the two countries, who funds the health care systems of
Germany and US. Moreover it also includes the issues that are being faced by current health care
system such as- underperformance in primary care in US and problems related to funding
process in Germany and many others.

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References
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