[hef19898]

50% is, as very rough ballpark number, your net salary in Germany. Usually it is more than that. Not all of the other 50% is taxes so. It is social security, unemployment insurance, salary taxes and part health care (usually around 15% with your employer paying the same amout directly as well).

And nobody thinks health care is free, just universal. It might seem free as everybody is used to pay part of his salary every months but health care cost is a recurring topic over here.

Availability for emergencies, and ambulances are for emergencies, is by no means bad. There are medevac helicopters placed in a way to minimize response times. And they are covered by your basic insurance.

Availability can be an issue compared to private insurance due to budget constraints in the public model and the fact that doctors and hospitals have to live. Again, emergency services don't suffer from that. Could overall availability be better? Yes. Is availability overall satisfactory? I would say yes as well (point in case, general doctors in the countryside, there are not enough of those for a variety of reasons).