Fire Up That Flamethrower, Bernie!

[Alex K]

Perhaps one of the board socialists....er, Europeans/Canadians, etc... can answer this because I genuinely don't know.  When you go into a clinic in a civilized country are there forms to fill out and papers to sign?  Is there an ID card for the National Health Insurance system?  How does the process actually work?

In Germany, the majority of people are part of the compulsive insurance system. If you have a job, your employer automatically registers you there. If you don't and you're not covered by a spouse, there's a welfare system which I haven't had to use yet fortunately, so I don't know the details. You have a credit card sized ID card which they swipe and then they call the death panel you're on your way to the doctor/station. Usually you have to sign a treatment contract, and that's it. By the way, if you're in this pinko commie system and you feel a bit capitalist, you can always drop cash for the special treatment.

Individuals above a certain income/freelances can apply to be exempt from this system, they can then become member of what s called a "private" insurance company. That means you'll generally get some more features such as single rooms, the big professors are more likely to treat you rather than their underlings, but in recent years the private insurers have become known for luring in young customers with attractive offers and screwing over older patients with obscene fees.

I for example am now part of the usual compulsory system which is actually pretty good. If I will, as is my plan, get a tenured position as a civil servant, I would get a kind of hybrid insurance scheme that is set up specially foe civil servants.