Health Status and Health Care Services in Germany with Comparison to the United States - Case Study Example

Health Status and Health Care Services in Germany with Comparison to the United States John A. Robinson HSM 310 / Intro to Health Service Management Professor Stephanie Gloster December 11, 2011 Outline: I. History of Health Care……………………………………..…….…………… a. United States b. Germany II. Population…………………………………………………………………….…… a. Demographics b. Life expectancy c. Main causes of death III. Availability of Health Services a. Types of Health Care facilities offered b. Major issues related to access c. Quality of care IV. Expenditures a. How are health services paid i. Government role ii. Insurance iii. Cost to patient b. Amount of Money Earned by Health Care Annually V. Effects of Health Care on the Environment a. Politically b. Culturally c. Econonmically VI. Summary History of Health Care a. United States In the early 18th century doctors in the USA did not know much about diseases and as they continued to learn more and exploit new technology they charged higher prices than the citizens could afford at a time whem most people paid out of their pockets. Blue shield insurance for doctors rose and gained popularity and as a result other sheemes came up and this led to competition. The government had to chip in and protect the citizens from exploitation and to make healthcare reachable by most poor and middle class citizens who at the time had been locked out the system.. Since then healthcare has been accessible by the low class persons only that those that can offord it and can shoulder the huge costs as aresult obtain better quality healthcare. USA has over the time remained the only country where it citizens are not universally covered with a huge 47% is not under ander any insurance cover among the European union coutries (Mandrola, 2011). b. Germany The history of medical care in germany started since the existence of man in germany. However the use of synthetic medicine started in the early 17th century and only 27%could access it. With time more people became aware of the benefits that came with synthetic Medicare and the inefficiency of herbal and traditional medicines. During this time there was an industrial revolution in germany and the workers who got sick did not have money since they didn’t earn it from their labour. They thus formed friendly societies where they paid monthly premiums pooling their resources so that they could cover the workers who got sick these societies later became the “sickness funds” which are now famous in germany. This is how the concept of health care insurance originated in germany and hence universal health care. Germany has undergone many changes in terms of health care which has ensured its life expectancy rate remains high at 80 years and child mortality decrease to 4 deaths in 1000 births each year. Germany now is one of the states that offer the most convenient and affordable medical services with the government spending 10% of its GDP. more and more citizens are now able to access private medical services with the spending increasing to 23%. Though the number of doctors per a given population is still low standing at 34 doctors in a population of 10000 persons these doctors are efficient and are able to serve the citizens .the government of germany has indeed made sure that no family goes broke due to health expenses (Unknown, 1998). VII. Population… a. Demographics The population of USA is the highest among developed countries at 300million people with the young working population at 44% while the children and the aged that make up the dependants behind 46% with 14.5% persons below the poverty line. Germany on the other hand has a population of 82 million which is considered quite populous for its size. It has a working percentage of 49% with the dependant population being 51% most of the old population are not insured hence increasing the poverty levels. b. Life expectancy The life expectancy in germany has continued to rise over time and Germanys are living longer and longer with the improvement in health care the life expectancy now is at 80 year which is quite commendable it almost the highest in the world and actually the highest among the G5 nations . on the other hand though in USA the expectancy is still commendably high it is slightly lower than that of germany and other industrialized coming after Cuba, Chile and some developing countries to stand at the 42nd position in the world. it is below average for the European union countries. the life expectancy is at 65 years for both men and women. c. Main causes of death The main causes of death in these two countries are mainly old age although other tropical diseases such as heart diseases, stroke, cancers such as lung, rectum, breast among others. pneumonia, diabetes and other diet related diseases also rank among the top killer diseases. Among children that are under the age of 5 years deaths are mostly related to pregnancy conditions. However these deaths differ according to age, sex and also climatic conditions VIII. Availability of Health Services a. Types of Health Care facilities offered The two countries germany and USA have a reputation of having the best health care services offered in the world. However Germany ranks higher than the USA. In both countries the health services that are offered are almost similar and include ambulatory care both primary and secondary, dental care, inpatient outpatient, preventive care sexual transmitted illnesses prevention and treatment, emergency attention. they also offer hospice services for the terminally ill like the cancer patients (Diederichs, 2008). b. Major issues related to access IX. In germany everyone can access Medicare and basically there on many issues that influence the access. However in the USA access to Medicare is determined by the wealth accuitance of an individual or the wage level one has. People that are wealthy can access better health care than those that are poor. Those that are insured can also access healthcare more affordably than the uninsured. a. Quality of care The quality of care offered in both countries is quite high as both countries are ranked among the best health care givers. However The united states has been ranked below average for European union countries this is evidenced by the life expectancy grates which are at 65 below most industrialized nations and also some developing countries. The preventive quality is also below average, the increase in the cases of breast and cervical cancer is an indicator measures are not taken to prevent the disease. The care for chronic diseases such as asthma is also wanting. In Germany there lays in place an efficient system to ensure that diseases are not only well prevented but only well tackled. X. Expenditures a. How are health services paid Marjory health services in Germany are paid through insurance schemes. Citizens are required by law to pay premiums to a public fund that caters for them when they fall sick. However there is also a private scheme that caters for citizens that earn a high income and are able to cater for their own bills. These people are not allowed to go back to the public scheme unless they fall below the poverty line. This makes most people remain in the public scheme. Healthcare in the united state are mainly paid individually although there are a new insurance programmes that are either fully privately owned or jointly owned by the public and the government. Citizens in this country spend on Medicare more than on another aspect. i. Government role In Germany the government plays an important role in ensuring that everyone is covered by the insurance funds through a regulated system. However it also allows those that wish to take up private insurance to do so but within their limits. You are never uninsured in Germany. On the other hand USA has no elaborate system of the government that ensures Medicare. However a considerable portion of the countries insurance is provided by the government though it does not guarantee that all citizens are covered only those that wishes to. ii. Insurance The insurance in Germany caters for all the bills relating to Medicare. Both the public and the private insurance schemes make sure that the citizens do not carry the burden of medical bills. In the USA the insurance caters for a small portion of the citizens bills on Medicare since only a small portion of the population is insured. iii. Cost to patient In Germany the cost of Medicare is affordable and inexpensive as all citizens are covered and thus they don’t feel the weight of their bills as they are shouldered by the insurance schemes. The cost to patients in USA is quite high since the citizens lack the governments support and medical cover. They have to shoulder the largest portion of their medical bills. b. Amount of Money Earned by Health Care Annually Though health care is mainly carried out as a nonprofit making entity Germany makes huge revenue from the premiums of the citizen’s .consequently it spends less on Medicare. Doctors cost is low compared to other developed countries. The USA spends the largest percentage of their GDP in medical care and since it has no elaborate system of collecting medical funds the revenues do not match the huge expenditure. Doctor’s costs are very high hence collecting small revenue more than the other developed countries. XI. Effects of Health Care on the Environment a. Politically In the USA health care is a major campaign issue and most of the government elected get to office through their reforms to solve the Medicare ghost that has roomed the country for years. Healthcare is a common debate in the political circle. In Germany though medical care cannot be completely locked out of political debates, it is not very discussed as most of the reform are in place. To maintain these reforms in place has been a political compromise where political leader have to give up their interests for its success. b. Culturally Medical care in both countries have greatly changed the way of doing things of the people as they struggle to adopt new cultures that benefits them health wise. In fact the German universal insurance was founded on people’s culture and solidarity. c. Economically Health care in the USA has continued to plunder their economy as it continues to take up a huge chunk of their GDP. Had better reforms been in place USA would have saved a lot and it would avoid heavily taxing the citizens to meet these costs. In Germany healthcare is rather an economic booster rather than an economic consumer the revenue collected from medical premiums when invested earn the country revenue which is a plus. XII. Summary Healthcare in USA is wanted wear and unless something is done its citizens will continue paying too expensively for services they could get more affordably and though the health standards are quite high citizens continue to spend too much on healthcare what they should otherwise spend in other sectors . as at now the USA has worn the inevitable distinction o being the only G5 country lacking the universal health care on the other hand Germany should maintain their healthcare system as its not only beneficial to them but also provides a benchmark for other countries to emulate. Its healthcare is not only efficient .economical and affordable to the citizens but also source of funds to the government (Underwood, 2009). Works Cited Diederichs, C. (2008, May 5). The historical development of the german health care system and respective reform approaches. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18696145 Mandrola, J. (2011, May 29). Differences between american and german healthcare systems: one physician's perspective. Retrieved from http://getbetterhealth.com/differences-between-american-and-german-healthcare-systems-one-physicians-perspective/2011.05.29 Underwood, A. (2009, September 29). Presciptions: the business of health care. Retrieved from http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health-care-abroad-germany/ Unknown. (1998). Development of the health care system in germany. Retrieved from http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_health_care_develop.htm Read More