[jyl]

Rikao, in Germany 90% of people choose to be covered by their choice of among 200 different non-profit, govt-regulated "sickness plans". If the person is working, his sickness plan premium is paid by employee and employer contributions. If the person loses his job, he keeps his coverage. 10% of people choose to be covered by for-profit, private medical insurance. Compared to the sickness plans, the private medical insurance premiums are cheaper for younger people, more expensive for older people, and if you lose your job no-one pays your premium. There are restrictions preventing people from freely switching back and forth between sickness plan and private insurance, so that you can't take advantage of the lower private premium when you are young, then jump over to the sickness plans when your private premium rises or you lose your job (otherwise called freeloading). The system works for most people, in the sense that, as a country, Germany spends far less on healthcare while enjoying equal or better health, compared to the US. It also gives you a choice, you can choose fully private insurance if you want to. There are losers, of course. German medical insurance is a relatively smaller industry than in the US, German doctors earn less on average than US ones, and the health care industry doesn't make as much profit per life from Germany as from the US.