Germany

We've always enjoyed looking at European models, and would highly recommend checking out the Alliance for Health Reform's recent briefing on approaches to health reform in Germany and the Netherlands, (a webcast of which is available here). These European States are particularly relevant to the U.S. because they are examples of reform that achieved comprehensive coverage within a private market framework.

The briefing's panel of international and domestic experts offered a sort of Fodor's guide to the health care systems of Germany and the Netherlands with a Berlitz translation of the most meaningful implications for health reform in the U.S. (with background materials available here.)

Our take-home conclusions from Friday's trip to the Continent:

Business sentiment rose in both Germany and France according to recent monthly surveys, pushing the dollar to new lows and bolstering support for the eurozone economic outlook. Although European banks have been damaged by the sub prime crisis, the recent business sentiment surveys indicate it may have limited effect on the eurozone economy. This may be in part due to Germany's smaller financial sector and limited exposure to the great uncertainty in markets in the U.S. and U.K.

Snapshot asks, how will Europe weather the financial crisis?

If you are following the spread of the subprime contagion around the world, this event I hosted yesterday here at the New America Foundation is required viewing. Steffen Kampeter, CDU/CSU spokesman for the Budget Committee in the German Bundestag is a man in the subprime trenches. Kampeter's advice: focus on managing the unwinding of the crisis so it does not get any worse and only then go back and put in place the voluntary and if necessary, regulatory safeguards so this never happens again. A big thank you to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for making it happen.