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With In Depth

Healthcare: Can Germans Still Afford It?

Germany's costly and unwieldy healthcare system is in urgent need of reform. Doctors, hospitals and medication are becoming no longer the means of healing, but rather cost factors for insurance providers. Some critics say that the solidarity principle, on which the public system is founded, is at risk.

The solidarity principle means that a person pays a percentage-based contribution, based on their income. Everyone pays the same percentage regardless of age, gender or history of illness. Everyone has access to the same medical services. However, the system in its current form is starting to creak under the weight of the demands placed on it. Increasingly, solidarity seems to exist only in theory.