Germany’s decentralized health system operates under compulsory statutory health insurance (SHI) and substitutive private health insurance (PHI), with broad, equitable benefits and low out-of-pocket costs, spending 11.7% of GDP on health—the highest among EU countries. Over the past decade, the system has remained stable, focusing on incremental sector-specific reforms to improve access, quality, and care coordination. A major current initiative is digitalizing healthcare through the electronic health card and secure data exchange among providers.
