ABSTRACT
In 1997, Germany spent 10.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care, while the United States spent 13.9% of its GDP on health care (GECD, 2000). Yet, a comparison of the leading indicators of health status suggests that the health outcomes in Germany are more impressive than in the United States. Life expectancy at birth is 74.1 years for German males and 80.3 for German females. The comparative figures for American males and females are 73.6 and 79.4 years, respectively. Infant mortality rate is 4.8 per 1000 live births in Germany and 7.8 per 1000 live births in the United States (GECD, 2000). These facts have convinced many, including, reportedly, former President Clinton, that the German health care model is worth emulating in the United States (Prewo, 1994). However, there are many who are opposed to the idea of Germanizing the U.S. health care system. They point to the many problems the German system is facing (Chase, 1993; Marshall, 1993) and argue that recent attempts to introduce competition among the health plans suggest that the Germans, in fact, may be moving closer to a U.S. model (Koelbl, 1994).
