Defining the Problem

Abstract

Health care is a daunting field to understand, with rapidly advancing medical sciences, a complex array of institutions, heavy government regulation, and numerous highly engaged stakeholders. The sheer complexity of the field has led to widely different opinions about the problems in health care and the many ill-advised “solutions” to these issues. Despite the many voices speaking about the German health care system, the challenge is clear: the system is in need of reform. While Germany has achieved much over the course of the last 65 years in providing health care to citizens, the nation is on an unsustainable path. There is a toxic combination of rising costs, unsustainable financing, divergent quality of care, shortages of skilled personnel, and a confrontational atmosphere among entrenched stakeholders.