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The Health Care Strengthening Act: The next level of integrated care in Germany

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  • Milstein, Ricarda
  • Blankart, Carl Rudolf

Abstract

The lack of integration of health-care sectors and specialist groups is widely accepted as a necessity to effectively address the most urgent challenges in modern health care systems. Germany follows a more decentralized approach that allows for many degrees of freedom. With its latest bill, the German government has introduced several measures to explicitly foster the integration of health-care services. This article presents the historic development of integrated care services and offers insights into the construction of integrated care programs in the German health-care system. The measures of integrated care within the Health Care Strengthening Act are presented and discussed in detail from the perspective of the provider, the payer, and the political arena. In addition, the effects of the new act are assessed using scenario technique based on an analysis of the effects of previously implemented health policy reforms. Germany now has a flourishing integrated care scene with many integrated care programs being able to contain costs and improve quality. Although it will be still a long journey for Germany to reach the coordination of care standards set by leading countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Switzerland, international health policy makers may deliberately and selectively adopt elements of the German approach such as the extensive freedom of contract, the strong patient-focus by allowing for very need-driven and regional solutions, or the substantial start-up funding allowing for more unproven and progressive endeavors to further improve their own health systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Milstein, Ricarda & Blankart, Carl Rudolf, 2016. "The Health Care Strengthening Act: The next level of integrated care in Germany," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(5), pages 445-451.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:120:y:2016:i:5:p:445-451
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2016.04.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Eva Kesternich & Olaf Rank, 2022. "Beyond patient-sharing: Comparing physician- and patient-induced networks," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 498-514, September.
    2. Susann May & Dunja Bruch & Felix Muehlensiepen & Yuriy Ignatyev & Edmund Neugebauer & Cecile Ronckers & Sebastian von Peter, 2022. "Physicians’ Perspectives on the Implementation of the Second Opinion Directive in Germany—An Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Livio Garattini & Marco Badinella Martini & Alessandro Nobili, 2022. "Integrated Care in Europe: Time to Get it Together?," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 145-147, March.
    4. Andree Ehlert & Dirk Oberschachtsiek, 2019. "Why do German physicians reject managed care?," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 87-99, January.

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