Nationalized Models and Country Comparison Essay

Comparing health care system can be a beneficial tool when making changes to an existing system. When two countries use different fundamentals in their health care systems, looking at the similarities and differences allows for comparison and change in a current system. Collecting this data and comparing it gives countries the opportunity to make changes and implement new strategies to better their existing health care systems. The United States health care is predominantly comprised of private health care providers which are paid for by citizens paying for private medical insurance. There is some supplemented insurance available for poor and disabled citizens who are subsidized by the federal government but available through the different states. The senior citizens have a federally funded health care referred to as Medicare, which is funded by money collected from workers throughout their careers. Germany has one the oldest national health plans in Europe. The plan is for all citizen of Germany to have health insurance. It is required for the workers to pay a percentage of their income into the national plan. The rate of premiums is then based on a person’s level of income. The national plan then allows higher wage earners to opt out of this plan and pay for private insurance. The United States struggles with the high cost of health care and having the ability to continue to provide basic coverage through Medicare and Medicaid. The German plan has created health insurance for its entire citizen with a surplus of over 5 billion dollars (Miriam Widman, 2011). The plan is cost effective for the German system. The United States is trying to explain how they will pay for the health care plan they have and the part they want to add. The problem starts with almost 45 million uninsured Americans (Arthur Garson Jr, MD, MPH, 2012). The health system in place for the German system has all citizen insured. This is costly for Americans and the health care budget. Implementation of a new health care system in the United States is and has been a problem. The private sector is primarily the main source of insurance coverage for Americans. It has been proposed many different times or the US to go to a National program, and generally not supported. The main argument is this would create socialism in the United States and take away our freedoms. The Germans do not see it this way, â€Å"You (in the U. S. ) have risks but you also have opportunities†¦. but for us it’s clear. Health is a risk that cannot be placed on the shoulders of the individual. † (Ann Marini). The Obama Health Care Act seems to address many of the issues that face Americans, but it seems to have a lot of opposition. The German National Health Care plan has support from both parties (Miriam Widman, 2011). It is possible the new plans for the US will continue to move forward in 2014, and make a difference for the uninsured Americans. The German plan seems to work with a surplus of funds to back it up. Both of these systems have good and bad parts to them. It seems that Americans are afraid that choices will be limited with change from the mainly private system that is in place now. Comparing other system does make sense to make changes on the system in place. The goal is to have the best health care at affordable prices for all the citizens of both countries.