Health Care
With aging populations and rising costs, health care provision is a concern for societies on both sides of the Atlantic. Although both the U.S. and Germany have very different health care systems, a more nuanced analysis of the systems shows that both countries are confronted by similar challenges, among them the reform of the health care system so that it rewards quality health care and payment systems for medical providers. A cornerstone of economic policy, health care policy in Germany and the U.S. will influence domestic policy debates for years to come.
Private Health Care Insurance: Accessibility and Efficiency in the U.S. and Germany
Different Systems, Similar Debates Despite different health care systems in Germany and the U.S., similar debates and health policy questions can be identified in both countries. Some common issues are the role of the private insurance market and competition in health care. In the U.S., the 2010 Affordable Care Act reform has… Read more >
Pay-for-Performance in the Health Care System: Lessons Learned and Steps Forward
The German and U.S. health care systems may be different in many ways, but both countries face similar challenges. Both countries are troubled by aging populations and increasing health care costs, which significantly complicates their respective domestic policy debates. This Policy Report provides an analysis of how Germany and the U.S. attempt… Read more >
The U.S. Elections 2012: The Role of Health Care Reform
Over the last four years, President Barack Obama’s most significant bill was the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), which introduced a major reform of the U.S. health care system. Although most provisions of the bill were affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in summer 2012, Republican opposition to the bill has been… Read more >
Collaboration in Health Care: Success Wherever You Are
Minnesota’s health care model is admired across the United States as an efficient, high quality system. There are many reasons for this and one important component is that Minnesotans work together toward common goals. Collaboration among the health plans, hospitals and clinics, and the State of Minnesota has resulted in a system… Read more >
Access, Quality, and Affordability in Health Care in Germany and the United States
Despite dramatic differences in the history of their health care systems, the United States and Germany face similar challenges in improving the quality of care while simultaneously expanding access and making health care more affordable. Although the United States and Germany have issued a series of reforms to contain costs while supporting quality improvements, both countries persistently spend more than average on health care while lagging behind in quality.
Linking Payment and Quality of Health Care in Germany and the U.S. – Lessons Learned and Future Perspectives
Increasing health care spending in the United States as well as in Germany raises a fundamental question of whether health care is of sufficiently high value, given its costs.
The €20 Billion Problem in Germany’s Statutory Health Insurance
Health care policy experts in Germany are discussing a bizarre problem: What to do with €20 billion of accumulated reserves in the Statutory Health Insurance System? Of course, the availability of money creates the usual suggestions. Providers want their share of the cake through higher payments—for example, the chairman of the National… Read more >
Vigilance vs. Precaution: Diverging Directions in U.S. and European Technology Governance?
In a new Transatlantic Perspectives essay, DAAD/AICGS Fellow Dr. Sascha Dickel examines how the emergence of synthetic biology has affected scientific regulatory principles in both the U.S. and Europe, focusing on the two entities’ respective ethics councils and how they balance the potential promise and risks that accompany new synthetic biology technologies. Dr. Dickel presented his research findings in a seminar on June 23, 2011; a summary of this event is available below.
At the Eve of Convergence? Social Services in the U.S. and Germany
In Policy Report 42, Annette Zimmer and Steven Rathgeb Smith look at social service and health care provision in the United States and Germany, examining the historical development of the different styles of welfare state, the role of public and private expenditures and providers, and current trends in the two countries. The authors offer answers to questions such as how is social service and health care provision affected by the new approach of designing social policy? They also address whether path-dependency in the two countries is still in place; or if German and American nonprofit social and health care providers, confronted with similar problems, tend to adopt similar strategies in order to keep or even enlarge their share of a growing market of social service provision.
Stem Cell Politics in Germany and the United States
It has become fashionable to contrast a religious United States with a secular Europe. As with most broad generalizations, this one contains some truth. Levels of religious self-identification and practice are higher in America than in Western Europe. Religious rhetoric plays a more prominent role in public discourse in Washington, DC, than it does in London, Berlin, Paris, or other European capitals. In making broad comparisons, however, much depends on how key terms are defined…
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