珊蒂寫字樓

Health and Health Insurance in Germany

Hsiao-yun Kleber-Chang/tr. by Paul Frank

Universal health insurance is a valuable but little appreciated public service wherever it exists in the world. Does Germany's century of experience with universal health coverage give people in Taiwan cause for optimism or concern?

When I arrived in Germany 20 years ago, what I found hardest to get used to my university's requirement that everyone have health insurance. Without a document proving that you had health insurance, you could not even register. The monthly premium of DM68 (about NT$1200 in those days) was no small sum for an impoverished student like me.

Student health premiums were very reasonable compared to what most Germans had to pay, which was seven or eight times more. When I went abroad after graduating from college I had no experience of any sort of public health and labor insurance system, because in those days Taiwan still had no national health insurance program. I had always been in the best of health, and other than an occasional visit to the dentist, I had almost no contact with medical doctors and hospitals. I therefore considered my insurance payments a complete waste. I resented the fact that my insurance company was subsidizing a complete stranger's healthcare with my money.

全民健保吃力不討好，全球皆然。看了德國的百年經驗，台灣應該可以釋然一點？還是更「鬱卒」了？

20年前我剛到德國時，最不習慣的就是大學的強制健康保險。註冊時如果缺少這項文件，就無法順利完成手續。對分毫計較的窮學生來說，每月68馬克（當時約合台幣1200元）的支出可不是小數目呢。

雖然，和一般德國民眾所繳、動輒七、八倍以上的保費相較，學生保費已是最最便宜了，但當時台灣尚未實施全民健保，而我大學一畢業便出國，從沒有公保勞保經驗，再加上向來是健康寶寶，一年到頭不生病，除了偶爾看牙醫外，幾乎和醫生、診所絕緣，因此老覺得花冤枉錢很不甘心，一想到保險公司把我的保費拿去補貼不認識的老外，更加心痛。

全民健保  universal health insurance

不討好  little appreciated

樂觀   optimism

要求n.  requirement

註冊    register

窮學生  impoverished student

保費  premiums

出國(唸書)  go abroad

勞保  labor insurance

補貼  subsidizing