More Germans Lack Health Insurance

An increasing number of Germans does not have health insured, according to the German health ministry: While 105,000 people were not insured in 1995, according to German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, the number climbed to 188,000 people in 2003. Illegal immigrants are not included in the statistics and a majority of those without health insurance are homemakers, employees and self-employed people. Germany's current economic problems have been cited as a reason for the increase in uninsured people as many seem to accept the risk that they will have to pay their own medical bills rather than regularly paying for health insurance.