The German health system is effective but expensive

The German health system is among the best in the industrialized world but also among the most expensive, found the Institute for Health Research in Kiel (IGSF) in a comparison of 14 industrialized countries.
Germany ranks first in terms of access to care from a perspective not only geographical but also time because the risk of waiting list is the lowest in Germany, said during a conference Press Beske Fritz, director of the institute IGSF.

The density of health professionals is 3.3 doctors per 1,000 people in Germany, against 3 for 1000 on average in the 14 countries of 2.2 specialists for 1000 (1.7 per 1000 in 14 countries), 0 , 8 dentist for 1000 (0.7 per 1,000 in 14 countries) and 9.7 personal carers for 1000 (9.2 per 1,000 in 14 countries).

German hospitals have 6.3 beds per 1,000 population (3.9 per 1000 in the 14 countries) while the hospital stay is approximately 9.3 days (7.1 days in 14 countries).

Life expectancy in Germany is 81.1 years for women and 75.1 years for men, just six months under the average of the 14 countries considered, while the perinatal mortality for infants 4.5 per 1,000 live births (4.9 per 1000 in 14 countries) and for mothers 5.6 100 000 (6.1 per 100,000 in 14 countries).

These results redorent the arms of Germany somewhat tarnished by the publication in 2000 of an analysis of 191 nations conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In this study, since withdrawn by WHO because of the many criticisms of the methodology, Germany came in 25th place, behind the United Kingdom, Greece and Colombia.

The downside is that the health services in Germany accounted for 14.2% of gross national product (GNP) in 2001, which is, along with Sweden, the highest rate in 14 countries, including average is 11.5%, acknowledged Fritz Beske.

Health expenditure per capita of 2,999 euros on average in the 14 countries were 3,566 euros in Germany, the same as in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, and third after the United States (the first place) and Switzerland (2nd place).

The tender care of the German system than "likely" needs. A high level of quality of care is inevitably linked to a "certain degree of overcapacity," he tempered.

The report was welcomed by IGSF Jörg-Dietrich Hoppe, president of the Association of German doctors, and Hans-Jürgen Ahrens, president of the local health insurance funds (AOK).

It called for "more competition between health professionals and less political involvement."

"The insurance would not face the current financial difficulties (debt of 6 billion euros, ie) if politicians were not constantly changing the breakdown of expenditure between the four forms of social insurance. Such transfers cost about 6.5 billion per year in health insurance, "he said.

However, Karl Lauterbach, Advisor to the Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt especially for health reform comes into force, noted that the assessments made in the study of IGSF are "only quantitative but not qualitative."

"The German system is not bad. It is passable, except for costs that Germany is among the best," he said.

German media have drawn their own conclusions, noting that the German health system costs the price of a Mercedes but has the performance of a Volkswagen.

The 14 countries considered are Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.