German healthcare faces heavy spending cuts:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The German government has proposed measures to cut more than DM 7,000 million ($4,700 million) from the healthcare bill. Part of a wider cost-cutting package, the healthcare cuts are to help lower German non-wage labour costs to below 40% of salaries by the year 2000 from the present 40.8% by reducing health insurance contributions. The proposed measures include the withdrawal from insurance coverage for dental prostheses in certain cases, leading to estimated savings of DM 350 million in the first year; abolishing some health promotion activities, saving DM 400 million; increasing patient part-payment, saving DM 700 million; and annual cuts of DM 800 million for the next three years in hospitals' reimbursement.