As a typical high-income country with universal health coverage, Germany faces long-term pressure of rising healthcare costs due to factors such as population aging and advances in medical technology. To curb the irrational growth of healthcare expenditures, Germany has implemented a multidimensional set of measures, including establishing a health insurance payment system based on hospital service capacity, improving the nursing security system, strengthening structural regulation of pharmaceutical expenditures, and promoting digital transformation in the healthcare system. These efforts aim to control the growth of costs while ensuring medical quality and accessibility. This paper reviews the structural and technological drivers of healthcare cost growth in Germany, and focuses on analyzing its reform paths and key initiatives. By summarizing the successful experience, it aims to provide reference and inspiration for the continuous improvement of China's medical insurance system and the optimization of payment system.
Key words
Germany /
healthcare cost control /
medical insurance payment system reform /
pharmaceutical expenditure /
digital healthcare
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