Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56801
Exports for your reference manager
Financial consequences of falling ill: changes in the German health insurance system since the 1980s
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung gGmbH
Abstract The incidence of a health risk may result in two different types of financial consequences: the creation of new needs and the loss of savings and/or income to meet those needs. Illness often requires the purchase of medical help. Although in Germany virtually the entire population is covered by stat... view more
The incidence of a health risk may result in two different types of financial consequences: the creation of new needs and the loss of savings and/or income to meet those needs. Illness often requires the purchase of medical help. Although in Germany virtually the entire population is covered by statutory or private health insurance, over time these insurance schemes have become less generous as private out-of-pocket payments continue to rise and, in extreme cases, lead to financial hardship and even poverty. This paper describes the institutional regulations that cover the financial risks of becoming ill and the changes in these regulations since the 1980s. It begins with a structural overview of the German health insurance system, the benefits provided (both in-kind and in-cash) and the evolution of benefits since the 1980s. It then considers the related risk of permanent work-disability and the main institutional means of covering this risk. Here the discussion focuses solely on provisions dealing with loss of income and the changes therein since the 1980s. Aggregate data on short- and long-term illness are then presented to illustrate several effects resulting from changes in institutional rules. The paper concludes with a brief summary of major legislative changes, followed by conclusions and hypotheses about the consequences of occurring risks. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
continued payment of wages; compulsory health insurance; health; reform; Federal Republic of Germany
Classification
Medical Sociology
Social Security
Document language
English
Publication Year
2011
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
28 p.
Series
Discussion Papers / Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Forschungsschwerpunkt Bildung, Arbeit und Lebenschancen, Abteilung Ungleichheit und soziale Integration, SP I 2011-209
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56801
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications