Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung 3 / 1973, S. 198-207
Peter Rosenberg
In spite of the uniformity of health insurance legislation, benefits and contributions vary widely for participants in the West German national health plan. The wide variety of the administering agencies, some of which handle only a few participants, but all of which are financially autonomous, gives rise to questionable distribution patterns. Moreover, this organizational structure does not encourage any collective bargaining with suppliers of goods and services in the health sector. As a result, expenditures in all cost categories have been climbing rapidly. From 1962 to 1972, services provided by national health facilities increased nearly 300 per cent or 15 per cent per year. This development cannot be continued indefinitely, as it can only be financed by raising rates paid by participants. It is therefore necessary that the proper conditions for more rational production and more effective control of expenditure be created with regard to the health insurance as well as to the suppliers of medical goods and services.
Themen: Gesundheit