![]() The system has also been identified as being rife with corruption that costs the state huge sums of money every year. The number of dentists per person is high too, about twice that of neighbouring Switzerland. There are roughly 3700 doctors for every million inhabitants the figure in Sweden is 2780. Germany has one of the most expensive public health systems in the world, but it is seen by many health experts as one of the least efficient. The government has said it will cover this year's loss by pumping €4.2bn into the health system.īut Angela Merkel's grand coalition government of the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats is under pressure to reform the system as soon as possible and deal with the growing deficit. ![]() In 2005 the sector saw a profit of €1.8bn. The amount paid out by the public health insurers rose by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2006, but revenues were up by only 0.2%. The proportion of Germans who are elderly is rising, and with that so is the public health system's expenditure. In May the unemployment rate stood at 10.8%.ĭemographic change is also burdening the system. In the past five years, as Germany has entered recession, 1.6 million jobs-all of which carried with them compulsory health cover-have disappeared. The amount depends on a person's earnings, but the national average is 13.2% of income. Under the current system all employed Germans have to pay compulsory health insurance. The huge deficit in Germany's health service has been blamed on higher spending on drugs and hospital treatment and a drop in the number of people paying health insurance contributions. ![]() This would be a horrific scenario,” said Dieter Hundt, president of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. “If the government doesn't react immediately, insurance fees will rise to a new record in the next year. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure to deal with huge deficits in the health systemĪnd with the health ministry saying that health insurance contributions may have to rise to plug the financial gap, calls for long awaited healthcare reforms have been increasing.
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