Different Priorities on Different Continents

Click here for a fascinating BBC report on the differences between maternity care and support for new mothers in the U.S. and Germany. The most obvious difference is widely known: in Germany the government mandates paid maternity leave, but the United States does not.

But there are many other interesting and subtle differences having to do with the structure of health insurance in the two countries.  In some ways, the German health care model is similar to our own, with private insurance companies providing health coverage, often through one's employer.  But tight regulation of the insurance industry in Germany has led to a fairly universal system of coverage.

It's an interesting look at how societies with different priorities organize public and private goods in different ways.

Full disclosure: the American mother-to-be interviewed in this story has family serving on the MAMA Campaign steering committee.