What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt

From Noam N. Levey / KFF Health News: Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private healthcare system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost with their employer. But Germany strictly limits how much patients have to pay out of their own pockets for a trip to the doctor, the hospital, or the pharmacy, making medical debt practically nonexistent.

Read the original story here.

Read more articles on healthcare systems related to wellbeing.

Issue Areas:

Employee Wellbeing, Medical Debt

Impact Areas:

Equity, Health and Wellness

Actors:

Government, Healthcare Organizations

Communities Served:

Workers

Strategies:

Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals

Success Factors:

Eliminating Barriers, Expanding Access, Help Rather Than Punishment, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

Europe

Countries:

Germany

Date:

December 14, 2022

More Resources:

Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local...

Conversation with Noor Jehan Docrat

Noor Jehan is an Inclusive Innovator and Blue Economy specialist, leading community development programs across Africa. With extensive experience in various sectors in South Africa, Southeast Asia, and the UK, Noor Jehan is passionate about working with communities to create...

Aging states to college graduates: We’ll pay you to stay

From Jon Marcus / The Hechinger Report: As their workforces age, states across the United States are offering student loan repayment to incentivize college graduates to stick around. Now Maine and Vermont are the first to offer it to those...

Chicago Youth Help Decide Where Public Funds Go

From Martín Xavi Macías / NextCity: Chicago is asking its citizens, including youth, to help determine how to spend public money. Participatory budgeting involves communities identifying their greatest needs and guiding spending toward solutions. Read the original story here. Read...

Sweet City’: the Costa Rica suburb that gave citizenship to bees, plants and trees

From Patrick Greenfield / The Guardian: Curridabat, a city in Costa Rica has extended citizenship to the flora and fauna of the city (most notably pollinators) in order to enhance efforts to create more green spaces and healthier local ecosystems....

Universal basic income eases caregiving after incarceration

From Makaelah Walters / Prism: The Just Income GNV project in Florida provides justice-impacted people with a guaranteed income for a year to help them get on their feet. All they have to do is fill out an application, get...