[legulere]

We have standardized health care billing in Germany, both for the around 100 public health insurances and the private ones. We still have a relatively expensive health care system when compared with other European countries.

[perlgeek]

... and much cheaper than the US, currently.

[ju-st]

I pay 759€/month for my German public health insurance while in the US according to Google the average cost of platinum insurance (the best?) is $750/month.

[smnrchrds]

Is it calculated as a percentage of income? In that case, it is effectively a tax, and like any progressive taxation, higher income individuals pay more.

[perlgeek]

Yes it is.

Also of note: when you're insured with a public health insurance in Germany, a spouse and kids without income of their own are automatically insured as well, without extra cost.

[legulere]

Your wage is payed from that insurance, so it makes sense that you pay accordingly to what you earn.

[ixacto]

That is without employer subsidy or tax credits?

We can purchase insurance from state (ACA state) or federal exchange (non-Aca state), and also from the companies themselves. The cost will be either $0-1500+ Per month per person, yeah it varies a bit. Many employers will charge about $50-150 per month and subsidize the rest.

There are also high deductible plans that they are paying though, but they usually have a $3000-6000+ deductible per person, these are not good if you want to have kids or have a family history of chronic illness.

In my opinion the whole system is a huge inconsistent mess though. They will literally send you bills for hundreds of dollars (got a $350 therapist bill a few months ago) and I had to call them up an very politely tell them that yes I do have insurance with the credit card history to prove I’ve been paying the premiums, and to very politely fuck off.

The bill went away.

[ju-st]

Half of it is paid by my employer. There are no deductibles (generally) and no surprise bills here but the health insurance is useless for e.g. the dentist, the insurance only pays for the minimum (the joke is they only pay for the removal of teeth and a blender).

But for the sake of comparison I don't have the impression that US health care costs are much worse than in Germany. Certainly not to the extent the internet wants to make one believe.

[smnrchrds]

US spends twice as much as Germany per capita on health.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea...

[saiya-jin]

Everything is cheaper than US. Even Switzerland.