And We Think it is Costly Here

Germany and Switzerland have health care costs second to the US. In a recent Lancet article there is a discussion regarding the increases that workers will have in their contributions, yes all you union members, their contribution, yes all you New Jersey freeloaders, their own money!

Lancet states:

To deal with a deficit predicted to reach €11 billion by 2011 in the public health insurance fund, the governing centre-right coalition will raise individuals' contributions to the fund from 14·9% to 15·5% of gross pay. Employers will contribute 7·3% of the total 15·5%, with the insured contributing the rest. Controversially, the 7·3% employer's contribution will be capped from now on, but Germany's public health insurance providers will be free to demand unlimited top-up fees from individuals to cover what the health ministry described as inevitable future spending increases. Individuals asked to pay top-up fees greater than 2% of their gross pay might be eligible for government aid, depending on their level of income.

That means individuals contribute 8.2% of their gross pay to health care. The average US Family Income per US Census is about $53,000 in 2010. That means about $4,500 of salary to health care from the employees and about $3,800 from the employers for a total of $8,300 per family. In the US today we take out 1.5% for Medicare only and almost all union and Government workers pay zip! Not really, the rest of us pay for them in costs and taxes.

Perhaps Berwick should look at Germany, perhaps the whole administration should!

The Lancet piece ends as:

The portents are not good. Recent attempts to put greater price controls on drugs came to nothing in the face of aggressive lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry, while the present reforms represent the opposite of the cost-cutting measures that were promised before the most recent election in September last year. Political will, it seems, is in short supply.