Healthcare for a new Germany: the West and East German health systems and their unification process.

One of the new Germany's many challenges will be merging a socialist, centralized healthcare system with a decentralized network much like our own. Both Germanys' health services have clear pluses and minuses, and while preserving the best of each may not be completely possible, it is not as remote a goal as one might think. With a summary of the pre-unification East and West health systems, the authors map out Germany's healthcare options.