General Discussion

DFW

(56,972 posts)

57. Germany has WHAT???

Fri Dec 6, 2024, 06:15 PM

Dec 6

Try that again? Who in the world told you that??

That sounds like some myth from a debunked Bernie Sanders wannabe website from 2016. A left-leaning version of Fox "News" or some such.

I have lived here in Germany for many years, speak the language fluently, and my wife is a German social worker, part of whose job it was to help out some of the hundreds of thousands of Germans who have no health insurance at all. For that matter, she was one of them for about five years. Between the time she took early retirement at age 60 due to mobbing at work and nasty health problems, and when she turned 65, when German Medicare kicked in, I had to buy a monthly Germany version of COBRA for her (about €500-600 a month). Otherwise, she would have been one of those several hundred thousand Germans with no health insurance.

Now, a few hundred thousand is NOTHING against the millions that would have been in the USA. But the fact is that Germany has a health insurance system like a patchwork quilt, and everyone has to see where they fit in (or don't). As a legal resident foreigner whose job (and pay) was in the USA, I was told to furnish US health insurance or get German health insurance, which, in my situation (no German employer), was only available from one of the private companies here. I went to apply and get a quote. I had to fill out the questionnaire, and list all my pre-existing conditions. The quote came back at about $35,000 a year. The government did, however, accept my Blue Cross as health insurance, not knowing that they denied just about everything (unlike United which denied absolutely everything). But these are German bureaucrats, next to the French (no one beats the French), the ultimate paper pushers. They wanted proof of health insurance, I showed them my "proof" of health insurance. OK, fine. Next line, please.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

91 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

I just found out a friend pays 14000 a year for HCI for 3 people !!!! [View all] uponit7771 Dec 6 OP

Billionaires cannot get richer if prices go down. Irish_Dem Dec 6 #1

That has to be a cadillac plan. My high deductible plan is about $1000 a year for a family of 4. nt LexVegas Dec 6 #2

What kind of coverage do you get for that? That's peanuts, really. Happy Hoosier Dec 6 #4

Its a high deductible plan, so the coverage kicks in at 80 / 20 after individual and family deductibles. LexVegas Dec 6 #10

There are corps who pay a lot more than others uponit7771 Dec 6 #13

delete uponit7771 Dec 6 #14

Not the Cadillac plan, he works for large corp uponit7771 Dec 6 #8

I work for a very large multinational corporation. nt LexVegas Dec 6 #12

Right, some corps put more into employ HCI than others no doubt uponit7771 Dec 6 #17

That is certainly true. nt LexVegas Dec 6 #27

But what's your deductible? Mine's 12000, so practically the same as nilram Dec 6 #55

Mine is just a little less.... Happy Hoosier Dec 6 #3

Same here, ForgedCrank Dec 6 #5

WOW !!! That's not counting what the corporation pays !! People are being gouged and they're not millionaires uponit7771 Dec 6 #15

My ACA insurance-for-one is about $13,200 per year. El-Capitan Dec 6 #6

WTF ?!!??! "cost of having middleman private" 👈🏾👈🏾👈🏾 THIS !!! uponit7771 Dec 6 #9

And many specialists are very expensive. For example, ortho spooky3 Dec 6 #31

My wife and I pay $10,548 a year for Medicare, supplemental, and prescription coverage surfered Dec 6 #7

Does that count deductible? Even if it did that's freakin a lot !! They're are gouging uponit7771 Dec 6 #11

I'm 74 and pay just under 500/month moonscape Dec 6 #21

And the crazy part is the government pays the Advantage insurers more per person than the Gov. spends on Original. pnwmom Dec 6 #46

Exactly. Original Medicare is the moonscape Dec 6 #56

Me too, Moonscape Dave says Dec 8 #87

You are correct. There are still deductibles. surfered Dec 6 #22

I don't think people realize how expensive Medigap and drug plans are, especially as one ages. Silent Type Dec 6 #30

We're In That Ballpark ProfessorGAC Dec 6 #59

What! I only pay 3,216. kerry-is-my-prez Dec 7 #67

That's the total bit both of us surfered Dec 7 #71

Until the majority of US citizens wake up to a Medicare for all program this will continue. Jacson6 Dec 6 #16

"Why the hell isn't corporate America working with their employers to get the cost down ?!" WhiskeyGrinder Dec 6 #18

yep, just push it onto their employees ... jus damn uponit7771 Dec 6 #24

Because most of them pay a larger part than their employees? EdmondDantes_ Dec 6 #29

I paid $5892 this year for the lowest Arger68 Dec 6 #19

OMFG !!! So my friend is getting it cheap !! uponit7771 Dec 6 #20

Age makes a huge difference. Arger68 Dec 6 #23

Universal health care would provide workers the freedom to leave shitty jobs and/or managers without the Hotler Dec 6 #25

Need more information. How much are the premiums, annual deductible, and out of pocket maximums? beaglelover Dec 6 #26

Not all 3 just premiums and deductible per year, hell ... its even higher with copays and medicines. ... Damn uponit7771 Dec 6 #28

Thanks. I just checked my plan for next year and it's cost. I'm still working for a large entertainment company. beaglelover Dec 6 #35

The US health care costs are about DOUBLE those of the second most spooky3 Dec 6 #32

I think when people see the monthly bill will get more attention, this is crazy uponit7771 Dec 6 #37

I'm just offering an explanation as to why their bills are so high spooky3 Dec 6 #43

I was paying that markie Dec 6 #33

I pay $2080 per month for my family of 3. MontanaMama Dec 6 #34

JUST DAMN !!! These are mortgages for nice houses were they live. uponit7771 Dec 6 #38

That's cheap for Germany DFW Dec 6 #36

Germany has universal health care, that seems like a lot for them uponit7771 Dec 6 #40

I'd take it, but how many Democrats or Republicans will tell voters their taxes will increase by 7.5% and their Silent Type Dec 6 #44

If they attach it to the PHCI cost ... prolly all of them. When monthly PCHI premiums are as large as mortgages I think uponit7771 Dec 6 #45

See my post #57 just below DFW Dec 6 #62

Germany has WHAT??? DFW Dec 6 #57

Google, "does germany have universal healthcare" uponit7771 Dec 7 #63

As Abraham Lincoln said DFW Dec 7 #65

"Google all you want"... Let's be far removed from how they sound. If you have a counter it's... uponit7771 Dec 7 #68

It's still not universal. DFW Dec 7 #70

Why so expensive? EDIT - Never mind. I just saw your other replies explaining. highplainsdem Dec 7 #72

I've got good Federal Health Insurance for four...almost $17k annually. haele Dec 6 #39

Wow, just read through this ScratchCat Dec 6 #41

"absolutely nothing in benefit."👈🏾👈🏾👈🏾 uponit7771 Dec 6 #42

When I retired almost 7 years ago gerryatwork Dec 6 #47

Trump will fix it progressoid Dec 6 #48

RIGHT !!! AKA Make it worse, if Trump gets Real Wage Index back to 2019 Trajectory in a year we'll have a hard time with uponit7771 Dec 6 #51

That's awful but it doesn't excuse progressives celebrating one's death... tenderfoot Dec 6 #49

Most people aren't celebrating just hard to have sympathy for the banality of evil oozing out of PHCI CEOs uponit7771 Dec 6 #50

This is spot on DFW Dec 7 #74

Working with employers will never lower costs. Groundhawg Dec 6 #52

Why are you so astonished? Drum Dec 6 #53

Cause his age and works for large corp, thought that would insulate his family from high PCHI cost. Not so much uponit7771 Dec 6 #54

I pay nearly that for myself! Meowmee Dec 6 #58

Mine's going to $48,000 for four individuals. dawg Dec 6 #60

... ah, and Benedict Donald isn't going to make PHCI any cheaper uponit7771 Dec 7 #64

Fucking ridiculous. Ishoutandscream2 Dec 7 #75

Don't I know it. dawg Dec 7 #78

There was a time long before we got got Medicare, where we $29k for two of us. Stinky The Clown Dec 6 #61

butbutbut its better than socialism! pansypoo53219 Dec 7 #66

My health care plan is a bargain MissB Dec 7 #69

I pay 26% of my gross wages for healthcare. BlueTsunami2018 Dec 7 #73

😲😲😲 ... and people turned down the public option uponit7771 Dec 7 #76

Joe Lieberman killed the public option Arazi Dec 8 #90

My insurance plan was about $700 a month in the early 1990s. LiberalFighter Dec 7 #77

Blue Shield raised our firm's rate 25% this year hardluck Dec 7 #79

WTF ?! So how did people vote against the public option?! We're so screwed if people think we can keep doing this. uponit7771 Dec 8 #81

Nobody has ever voted against the public option Arazi Dec 8 #91

14,000 in premiums is only possible for a family of 3 with an income of around 165,000 or more. Ms. Toad Dec 7 #80

My surprise is mostly at the age of their family, I believed PHI was charging more for older people and they're not. We uponit7771 Dec 8 #82

Don't worry. They are charging more for older people. dawg Dec 8 #84

Yep, we're screwed if we think this is going to get better. A whole damn mortgage on PHI and people still vote GQP !! uponit7771 Dec 8 #85

Age is one of the few things they are permitted to charge more for. Ms. Toad Dec 8 #89

For how much longer do you think? dawg Dec 8 #83

Who knows. I was only addressing the current situation. Ms. Toad Dec 8 #88

My wife and I were paying more than that before Obamacare. hunter Dec 8 #86