What Germany’s coal miners can teach America about medical debt
SalonPÜTTLINGEN, Germany — Almost every day, Dr. Eckart Rolshoven sees the long shadow of coal mining in his clinic near the big brownstone church that dominates this small town in Germany's Saarland. "It's a huge problem here," said Jessica Ice, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. "Access to medical care with minimal costs for patients has been essential," said Armin Beck, regional director of the Knappschaft Bahn See, of KBS, a health insurance plan whose roots stretch back to the 13th century, when miners set up a mutual aid society to protect one another in case of injuries or accidents. "Many Americans may not understand how affordable health care is for patients in other countries," said Reginald D. Williams II, who oversees international research at the Commonwealth Fund. In Great Britain, where medical care that is "free at the point of service" has been a foundation of that country's government-run National Health Service for almost 75 years, there are rarely any doctor or hospital bills.
History of this topic
Opinion: Crushing medical debt is turning Americans against their doctors
LA Times
Why Black Americans are more likely to be saddled with medical debt
NPR
‘Now we have nothing.’ Soaring medical debt causes gut-wrenching sacrifices for patients
LA Times
A startling number of people in America are saddled with health care debt
Raw Story
TWO-THIRDS of Americans are putting off medical care they need
Daily MailDiscover Related
_1643775788071_1643775794132.jpg)
