Lessons from Germany to help solve the U.S. medical debt crisis

[ck4829]

The Saarland's residents are sicker than elsewhere in Germany. And like West Virginia, the region faces economic hurdles. For decades, German politicians, business leaders and unions have labored to adjust to the mining industry's slow demise.

But this is a healthier place than West Virginia in many respects. The region's residents are less likely to die prematurely, data shows. And on average, they live four years longer than West Virginians.

There is another important difference between this former coal territory and its Appalachian counterpart: West Virginia's economic struggles have been compounded by medical debt, a burden that affects about 100 million people in the U.S. — in no state more than West Virginia.

In the Saarland, medical debt is practically nonexistent. It's so rare in Germany that the federal government's statistical office doesn't even track it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/14/1142601526/lessons-from-germany-to-help-solve-the-u-s-medical-debt-crisis

"Medical debt is practically nonexistent", so they don't experience the FREEDOM to go bankrupt from medical bills? Awful.