There are three types of Hospitals in Germany :
1. Public hospitals (Öffentliche Krankenhäuser) run by local authorities, towns and the Länder.
2. Voluntary, non-profit making hospitals (Frei gemeinnützige Krankenhäuser) run by churches or non-profit organisations, such as the German Red Cross.
3. Private hospitals (Privatkrankenhäuser) run as free commercial enterprises.
4. Centralized planning meant that the provision of care was organized through the state via hospitals, polyclinics and medical practice, with only few private practice physicians. The central union and the government financed the health care system through a unified social insurance scheme.