Hello, I am an American living in Germany for the last 25 years. Although I was warned that each person living here must be insured, I was falsely advised to go with private insurance. For years I over paid for insurance until a German told me about the advantages of public health insurance. I am a singer and therefore am eligible for a special public insurance for free lance artist. Though I got in just before the cut off age,(55), I am now paying half of what I paid before, and this includes the payment of Social Security! As I get older, it becomes more and more important to pay into a system that I can afford! My older brothers and sisters still living in the US have horrible healthcare stories about outrageous healthcare charges!