Tue, 9 February 2010
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Germany's healthcare system has undergone some major surgery and the signs are that the operation has been a success. But what will this mean to health service users? |
Many doctors offer both conventional medicine and alternative forms of treatment |
Several of the country's big public health funds have said they plan to start lowering premiums following the publication of official data showing that the funds had chalked up a surplus totalling EUR 2.5 billion in the first half of 2004. After posting a deficit of EUR 805.6 million in 2003, AOK, one of the country's biggest statutory funds with 19 million members, reported a first-half surplus of EUR 960 million in 2004.
"It is clear that the health reform is working," declared Health Minister Ulla Schmidt. "All the big insurance funds said they would have had to raise funds without it."
The improvement in the health funds' finances follows the introduction in January 2004 of the government's deeply unpopular health service reforms, which included a special quarterly EUR 10 charge for patients visiting doctors and higher fees for patients on drugs.
Since then, the health funds reported that costs for drugs, sick pay and patients' travel expenses dropped in some cases by double-digit amounts.
The fall in costs reflect key elements of the government's reform which include restrictions on travel expenses, coverage of sick pay, and the introduction of higher deductibles on prescription drugs and abolition of coverage of over-the-counter drug sales.
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