Das deutsche und Schweizer Krankenversicherungssystem: Kosten, Leistungen und Anreizwirkungen aus Sicht der Versicherten

Abstract

In the last years changes in the financing and in the service catalogue of the German health insurance system have been intensively discussed. The problematic incentive structures regarding the behaviour of the insured are frequently mentioned in these discussions. In particular, German insured have only little interest in a cost-efficient treatment of illness. At the same time the Swiss health insurance system is an example in which the insured show a higher cost consciousness. In the following article, the health insurance systems of Germany and Switzerland are compared from the perspective of the insured on the basis of the information-economic terms “moral hazard” and “adverse selection.” We find that both systems can learn from each other in reducing incentive problems.