Internationale Vergleiche von Gesundheitssystemen und die Neubestimmung des Leistungskatalogs in der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung - Was bringt ein Blick ueber die Grenzen?

Health care systems in developed countries worldwide are not only faced with costs of new medical technologies but they are also faced with growing propor-tions of elderly people who by far induce largest demands of health services. Spending on health care is now up to 10% or more of gross national product in some countries. This causes concern whether the most part of expenditure is publicly financed under social insurance or mainly financed by private non compulsory insurance. The same questions concern the provision of health services either more private or more public. Countries have drifted into different ways of providing and financing health services. Long run consequences are often not foreseen. Therefore it becomes important what is to be learned from the experience of countries with similar or different health care systems. And is the experience valuable and transferable regarding historical developments of health care systems and cultural differences between the nations?