Healthcare in Germany
 
Germany is the country with one of the biggest provided budget for healthcare system in the world. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, over 300 billion euros were spent on healthcare in 2013.
The huge governmental investments make possible the development of medical services quality and medical technologies.
The healthcare system in Germany is based on the well-structured health insurance system, which consists of public health insurance and private health insurance. Approximately 90% of population are mandatory or voluntary members of the public health scheme while the rest 10% have private health insurance. According to the law, you can opt for full private health insurance if your monthly income is above a certain threshold (more than 4 300 euro gross) or if you are self-employed. Other German residents are members of the government health system. The government health insurance scheme is administered by approximately 300 insurance companies (Krankenkassen), and people can choose the insurance company according to their wish and change it each year if necessary.
 
The insurance premium is 14% of the gross income of an employee and is covered by the employer and employee in the same proportion.  
 
If you would like insurance coverage to supplement the government system benefits, you can purchase a policy from any private health insurance company; for instance if you would like to be treated by a private doctor/professor and have a private one bed  room in hospital or other alternative treatment. This additional insurance must be paid by the employee himself. 
 
The German Government covers medical insurance costs for persons with income below the subsistence rate. The government health system funds cover the costs for ambulatory, stationary and dental treatment. Patients have the right to freely choose their physician, change him/her upon request or directly contact a specialized doctor. 
 
In addition to the government health insurance funds, there are 50 private health insurance companies in Germany. Members of these companies are persons whose income exceeds the basic level and private entrepreneurs. This category of population has the choice between the government health insurance and private health insurance. In the case of private health insurance, the insurance premium is paid fully by the employee himself/herself.
 
The private health insurance companies cover almost all medical services as well as the expenditure on medication, excluding plastic and aesthetic surgery.
 
The amount of the insurance premium in the private health insurance companies, in contrast to the government health insurance companies, depends on the level of risk, age, gender and state of health of the person interested in getting an insurance card.
 
Medical institutions in Germany
Thanks to health insurance system, all the patients, independently from their social status and type of insurance, get the same qualitative medical help and all the necessary medicaments.
 
However, the conditions of stay in a clinic can be different for patients and depend on the type of insurance. In the case of private insurance, patients are accommodated in a separate one or two-bed room. Some hospitals have special units for private patients. Private patients are treated by a professor or a chief doctor of the clinic. 
The system of therapeutic-prophylactic institutions in Germany is considered one of the best in the world and is characterized by the application of innovative technologies.
German hospitals can be divided into three categories: state, private and charitable.
 
Clinics in Germany work closely together and carry out councils and consultations on controversial diagnoses together. If necessary, they consult their colleagues from other countries.
Pharmacology in Germany
Germany is a country with a developed pharmacological industry. All the medications are subject to careful control. The prescribed medicaments are handed over only following a recipe.
In pharmacies there is a qualified staff only.
Pharmacy chains are forbidden in Germany.
In Germany you can buy any kind of German medication. It is practically impossible to buy in German pharmacies the medicaments produced in other countries because of the strict and expensive control which does not allow pharmaceutical companies to get a license authorizing them to sell their products in Germany. Pharmacists will always offer you a German equivalent.