What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt

From Noam N. Levey / KFF Health News: Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private healthcare system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost with their employer. But Germany strictly limits how much patients have to pay out of their own pockets for a trip to the doctor, the hospital, or the pharmacy, making medical debt practically nonexistent.

Read the original story here.

Read more articles on healthcare systems related to wellbeing.

Issue Areas:

Employee Wellbeing, Medical Debt

Impact Areas:

Equity, Health and Wellness

Actors:

Government, Healthcare Organizations

Communities Served:

Workers

Strategies:

Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals

Success Factors:

Eliminating Barriers, Expanding Access, Help Rather Than Punishment, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

Europe

Countries:

Germany

Date:

December 14, 2022

More Resources:

Conversation with Luisa Fernanda Bacca Benavides

Luisa Fernanda Bacca Benavides is a Colombian lawyer specializing in human rights. She has over seven years of experience within the United Nations system, where she has developed strategies to prevent internal displacement and protect the territorial rights of indigenous...

California helps college students cut their debt by paying them to help their communities

From Gail Cornwall / The Hechinger Report: In an effort to help lower student debt while benefiting the community, the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program provides 3,200 students with service jobs and pays them $700 a month. Click here to read...

Conversation with Jack Henderson

Jack Henderson is a digital democracy researcher with RadicalxChange Foundation, the ERC’s BlockchainGov project, and the Coalition Of Automated Legal Applications. He holds a degree in economics from Princeton University. Jack Henderson spoke with Ashley Hopkinson on February 21, 2024....

Conversation with Allison Duettmann

Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com,...

Banks For The People

From Piper French / Noema: Public banks are owned and run by governments, and because they store money for the state instead of individuals, they can invest back into the communities they serve instead of extracting from them in the...

Inside the Nation’s Largest Guaranteed Income Experiment

From Abby Vesoulis, Abigail Abrams / TIME: A guaranteed income program is giving people the financial security to invest in themselves, avoid predatory loans, pay off debt, and improve their general quality of life. The lack of conditions on how...