In Germany, the majority of the population, including the elderly is funded by a public health care insurance system.
Long-term care insurance was established by the German welfare state in 1996 to give elderly financial resources for a caregiver.
This insurance either provides care services or cash benefits to pay for a private caregiver, such as a family member.
[1] The emergence of care insurance has encouraged the growth of private home-care agencies and new residential arrangements for elderly.
There are significant differences in the use of the long-term care services in Germany, depending on social position, ethnic background, and gender.
[3] In a study conducted in 1992, Louis Harris interviewed 948 elderly people over the age of 65 from Germany in order to have a better understanding of their health care access satisfaction and quality of life.
[4] Overall, a significant proportion of the elderly population are satisfied with their health care, and a very small amount view out-of-pocket medical expenses as a serious issue.
In addition, prompt treatment of depression may reduce direct health care costs in the elderly population.
[8] In order to reduce some of the health care expenditures associated with the medical conditions of the German elderly, which is largely due to money spent on medications for mental health or chronic conditions, the German government is strictly regulating reimbursement and pricing policies of the pharmaceutical market using cost-effective analysis.
The demography of Germany makes finding care staff for the increasing proportion of elderly people difficult.