Comparison of Health Care Systems in the US and Germany - Essay Example

U.S. vs. Germany: A Comparison of Health Care Systems Countries have adopted significantly different approaches to health care from one another. The reasons of these differences is not only the culture that the country follows but also the economic, social and medical needs that are highly different in these countries. To understand the differences in healthcare systems and the impacts of these differences on the overall health conditions of the countries, this paper will compare the health care system of United States with that of Germany. The paper provides useful aspects of the health care systems of both countries providing statistical data to further highlight the credibility of both systems adopted by the two countries. U.S. follows a private health care system which mainly depends on the health insurance typically financed or offered by the employers to the employees. Public insurance programs are limited to the people who are unable to benefit from private insurance. Private hospitals and health practitioners provide the majority of medical services. The private approach of health care may well be compared with the Germany’s hybrid model of health care. Under this system, health care facilities and medical aids are generally funded through payroll taxes. This system is publicly financed, however, the medical facilities under this system are also provided by private hospitals and health practitioners. Hence we may call it a public-private system. (Patel, & Rushefsky, 2006 pp. 34-38). The racially and ethnically diversified population in the United States affects the health care facilities and systems. African Americans, Asians, Hispanics and others constitute around 25 percent of the total American population today. It becomes difficult to incorporate and respond to the needs of such diversified populations in one policy. The beliefs, values and customs of different population make it difficult for the country’s health care providers to carry out necessary health practices which may be prohibited by their religion, traditions or customs. For instance, Mexican Americans are found to use alternative therapies like herbs etc. to treat their illnesses without communicating them with their medical consultants Bussey-Jones & Genao, 2003). Hence the cultural diversity affects the overall US health care statistics in terms of therapies used, the effects of alternative therapies and the concealed use of personal medications significantly. On the other hand, a study suggests that Germany has made little attempts to incorporate the needs of immigrants into their health care systems. Germany’s efforts to provide equal health care facilities have yet not organized enough to strengthen the doctor-patient relationships which move ahead of the language, communication and mistrust barriers (Babitsch et. al., 2008). The U.S. health care system has been believed to be the most expensive of the systems around the world. If we compare the per capita expenditure of both countries, we can affirm this claim. The OECD Health data 2008 provides that US spend $6714 per capita as compared to $3371 in Germany. Moreover, the spending of US health care as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product is also higher than Germany. The U.S. health spending as a percentage of GDP increased from 13.2% in 1996 to 15.3% in 2006, whereas, Germany’s percentage of GDP increase from 10.4% to 10.6 in the respective years (Anderson & Makovich, 2010). This is a noticeable factor that the U.S. health care system is comparatively expensive and is rising with a higher pace as compared to Germany. The increasing costs of health care facilities, machinery, tools, medicines and the shift from no-profit to for-profit health care providers have taken significant part in making the American health care system more expensive. The administrations costs of for-profit health care organizations have been identified as one of the major contributors in the expensiveness of U.S. health care system (Woodhandler & Himmelstein, 1997). Among the different indicators of the overall effectiveness and efficiency of health care systems are the life expectancy rates. If we compare the life expectancy rates at birth of the two countries, we may come to a conclusion that Germany is still at a better position by showing the results of 82.4 for females and 77.2 for males. On the other hand, the life expectancy of females in the U.S. is comparatively lower by 80.4 for female and 75.2 for male in 2006. If we compare the statistics related to the years of life lost due to disease like diabetes, the U.S. statistics still show a highly alarming situation compared with Germany. 99 years per 100000 population, are lost due to diabetes in the U.S. whereas, Germany’s statistic show a considerably lower value of 35 for the same population (Anderson & Makovich, 2010). The most significant problem that is being evaluated in the U.S health care system is the availability and access of health care facilities. The health insurance policies are disorganized and a large population is unable to access health facilities. The inadequacy of practicing physicians’ availability to the large population is also one of the major factors contributing to the worse situation of U.S. health care system. The number of practicing physicians per 1000 population in the United States is 2.4 as compared to 3.5 in Germany (Anderson & Makovich, 2010). A survey on the satisfaction of patients with the health care systems reveal that only 40% of the surveyed population was satisfied with the U.S. health care facilities as compared to 58% in Germany (Schoen et. al., 2000). Moreover, WHO (1997) ranks U.S. on 37 for the overall performance of the health care system. On the other hand, Germany is ranked at 25th in the same report. Comparison of U.S. and Germany Health care System   Germany U.S Percentage of GDP spent on health care 10.6% 15.3% Health care spending per capita $3,371 $6,714 Potential Years of Life Lost Due to Diabetes per 100,000 Population 35 99 Life Expectancy at Birth (Female) 82.4 80.4 Life Expectancy at Birth (Male) 77.2 75.2 Number of practicing doctors per 1,000 3.5 2.4 Average annual number of doctor visits 7.5 3.8 Source: G. Anderson and P. Markovich, Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data, 2008, The Commonwealth Fund, April 2010. Keeping the above findings under consideration, it is justifiable to believe that Germany’s health care system is more credible and effective as compared to the expensive yet inefficient system of the United States. Bibliography: Bussey-Jones, J., & Genao, I. (January 01, 2003). Impact of culture on health care. Journal of the National Medical Association, 95, 8, 732-5. Babitsch, B., Braun, T., Borde, T., & David, M. (January 01, 2008). Doctors perception of doctor-patient relationships in emergency departments: What roles do gender and ethnicity play?. Bmc Health Services Research, 8. Anderson, G., & Markovich, P. (April 01, 2010). Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data, 2008, The Commonwealth Fund. Patel, K., & Rushefsky, M. E. (2006). Health care politics and policy in America. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Schoen, C., Davis, K., DesRoches, C., Donelan, K., Blendon, R., & Strumpf, E. (January 01, 2000). Equity in health care across five nations: summary findings from an international health policy survey. Issue Brief (commonwealth Fund), 388, 1-7. Woolhandler, S., & Himmelstein, D. U. (January 01, 1997). Costs of care and administration at for-profit and other hospitals in the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine, 336, 11, 769-74. Read More