Germany Passes Health Care Reform
For public sector employees, the health insurance charge will rise from 14.9 percent to 15.5 percent of gross wages.
Articol de Ioana Dogaru, 13 Noiembrie 2010, 14:24
The German Parliament has passed the health care reform bill, news agencies report.
As of 2011, Germans will have to pay more for public health services.
For public sector employees, the health insurance charge will rise from 14.9 percent to 15.5 percent of gross wages.
The increase of the health insurance charge, split between employers and workers, is meant to finance the public health system next year.
According to Newsin, about 160 public health insurance funds in Germany coexist with private health insurance companies, which address liberal professionals and employees who earn more than € 50,000 a year.
About 10 percent of the German population benefits from private health insurance, most of which are Liberal voters.
The Opposition parties have expressed their disapproval of the health care reform package adopted by the Parliament.
Approximately 72 million people (making up 90 percent of the German population) are mandatory members of the public health scheme.
Translated by: Ruxandra Câmpeanu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest
