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The purpose of this paper is to present information on the health care system in Germany with the focus on mental health care in people with intellectual disabilities (ID).

The paper is descriptive providing an overview of the general structure of the German health care system with historical and economic background. The paper also provides further information on the general social and health care in Germany for people with ID and medical education in the field of ID is used.

There is a highly developed health care infrastructure in Germany but health care for people with ID is not co-ordinated or universal. Mental health care for people with ID is predominantly in in-patient services. Only in recent years, out-patient services for people with ID have been developed. There is a little emphasis in medical education on the health care needs of people with ID.

The value of this paper is its description of health care in Germany and services for people with ID.