United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Human Resources Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1993-10-13 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:T-HRD-94-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2 P0b002ee180391712 f:thd94002 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2 T-HRD-94-2 Foreign governments Health care costs Health care cost control Physicians Health care services Hospital care services Health insurance Health insurance cost control Pharmaceutical industry Dental services Germany Statutory Health Care System (Germany) National Health Care Reform Initiative Clinton Health Care Plan Health Security Act Testimony HRD Expensive new technologies, an aging population, administrative waste, structural inefficiencies, and unnecessary medical procedures have all fueled soaring health care costs in most industrialized nations. In 1993, Germany, concerned about sharp rises in health insurance premiums, began tightening its existing cost-control measures. The United States may find the German experience instructive because that nation provides coverage for nearly all its residents, guarantees a generous benefit package, and, like the U.S. system, relies mainly on employment-based financing. This testimony, which draws on a July 1993 GAO report (GAO/HRD-93-103), provides an overview of the German health care system, discusses problems leading up to the 1993 reforms, and presents some early results of these changes. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2/html/GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2.htm GAO/T-HRD-94-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-HRD-94-2 Testimony GAO/T-HRD-94-2; 1993 German Health Reforms: Initiatives Tighten Cost Controls; Foreign governments Health care costs Health care cost control Physicians Health care services Hospital care services Health insurance Health insurance cost control Pharmaceutical industry Dental services Germany Statutory Health Care System (Germany) National Health Care Reform Initiative Clinton Health Care Plan Health Security Act