Posted on 05/12/2012 2:21:57 PM PDT by Olog-hai
As the United States Supreme Court considers whether requiring people to have health insurance is unconstitutional, Germans are bewildered as to why so many Americans appear to be against universal coverage.
They also question the continued portrayal of US President Barack Obama and his health reform backers as socialists and communists, noting that healthcare was introduced in Germany in the 19th century by Otto von Bismarck, who was definitely not a leftist, and is supported by conservative and pro-business politicians today.
"It's a solidarity principle," says Ann Marini, a spokesperson for the National Health Insurers Association. "Not every 'S' automatically means socialism."
Marini and others say that mandated coverage is something that is simply not questioned in Germany. Furthermore, even the most pro-market politicians wouldn't dare to dismantle the country's health insurance system.
The requirement that everyone buy health insurance is based on a simple concept, healthcare experts agree. Allowing healthy people to opt out of having health insurance destroys the insurance community and leaves insurers covering only the sick. …
But there are other reasons why Germans are confused about the US healthcare debate. The US comes across to not only Germans, but to many Europeans, as a religious country. God seems to be part of many US debates, especially ones surrounding the presidential campaign. In secular European politics, the Almighty is rarely if ever invoked.
"For me the US is a very religious country. It doesn't matter which religion I look at—love thy neighbor is a very, very important point in religion," health insurance spokesperson Marini says. For her, the apparent deep religiousness of many Americans doesn't jibe with their unwillingness to be part of a healthcare community. …
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Americans Can’t Fathom Germans Fascination with David Hasselhoff.
yes, I was mistaken about Bavaria. Hitler considered himself ..”Bavarian by blood..Austrian by nationality’’.
Great point.
I'd add that routine medical care is expected, predictable and a normal service that most everyone consumes.
Insurance is for the unexpected, unpredictable event that is too costly to finance individually. So people buy insurance to spread the cost.
Forcing people to buy insurance for normal health expenditures is like having a mandatory federal insurance program to pay for bread.
Forget I said that. I don't want to give them any ideas!
That’s the point. Insurance companies must be able to refuse people with preexisting conditions.
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