Help with Taxes and healthcare in Germany and costs?

Many of the topics you refer to were already discussed in this forum over the years. Thus I encourage you to use the search function (above right) and read as much of it as possible. I give a few hints in short below:

Jay198 wrote:

I understand I have to get a german visa first to stay yearly and then after 5 years may  have the ability to stay longer term?

You do need a residence visa  to move to Germany. Normally (but not always) this is to be renewed yearly - but shorter or longer periods also exist (you seem to be at the mercy of the processing officer here),. Whether you can get a permanent one after some time depends on various factors - and I think you should not worry about it now.

Jay198 wrote:

What are taxes like in Germany for a retiree who is not working?
1. how would I be taxed by Germany as a US citizen who wishes to live in Germany and holds funds in stocks and bonds?

You will be income-taxed on your world income (from any source) at the normal income tax rates. Making the compulsory yearly tax declaration will be complicated in your case - better engage a tax adviser to prepare it for you!

Jay198 wrote:

How about healthcare?
4. How do I obtain health insurance?
5. How easily can I get access to urgent care such as a hospital that does heart stents or provide good stroke care if I have one? How about management of rare diseases- for example my wife is on Humira for a rheumatologic condition called plaque psoriasis with psoriatic arthritis?

This topic was exhaustively covered in other forum threads. In short: Above 55 years of age, the public scheme is closed to you and the private scheme will be costly (plus pre-existing consitions like your wife's may be excluded).
Health care in general is very good.

Jay198 wrote:

2. Are there local and state taxes on top of federal?

No, not on the income tax.

Jay198 wrote:

3. Are there property taxes? Are they only on the sale and purchase or are they yearly and how much?

There is a tax (locally differeing between 4% and 6.5% of the price) on roperty purchases and a yearly property tax (small - not more than a few hundred Euros per year). Other necessary fees, at buying time for agent, notary public and land registry, and yearly for garbage, road cleaning, etc. will be higher than that.

Jay198 wrote:

4. If I were to work how would I be taxed working for US clients over the internet and phone in Germany? What if I lived off a combination of consultant income and my investments?

There is no difference between foreign and locally sourced income - just the declaring procedure (and potentially accountancy requirements, since you will be classified as self-employed) will be more onerous. There are, however, many rules (registration, accountancy, etc.) that make it difficult to be self-employed.

Jay198 wrote:

5. What would my estimated tax be off my investments? Off a consultant income that paid 88k USD?

A first indication is available by online income tax calculators (see links in previous threads), but for a definitive answer ask your tax adviser!

Thank you so much for your help!

I will use the search feature, although a quick search did not reveal much.

Even though my income is from stocks I will still be taxed at income tax level and not as a capital gains of stocks (25-28%) ? I thought this was available for stocks and real estate.

If I am not eligible for public health care despite paying so much in taxes (45% of my income would be almost 100k a year on 200k in returns a year) then I wonder where all the money goes !

Jay198 wrote:

Even though my income is from stocks I will still be taxed at income tax level and not as a capital gains of stocks (25-28%) ? I thought this was available for stocks and real estate.

As far as I know, the 25% flat tax rate is available only on interest earned (and deducted on source) within Germany. It is not available on other capital gains and property-relaten income.
But you better confirm this with a good tax adviser (with international experience), as there might be exceptions or loopholes.

Jay198 wrote:

If I am not eligible for public health care despite paying so much in taxes (45% of my income would be almost 100k a year on 200k in returns a year) then I wonder where all the money goes !

Taxes are a separate matter and not used to finance health insurance.
Insurances are commercial ventures who live off the premiums they collect.
The public scheme is tightly regulated, acts as a social equalizer and costs a fixed percentage of your income. In the private scheme, you pay for the risk you present to the insurer (and risks they don't want can be excluded). To prevent people from switching between the two, e.g. going private when young, healthy and/or rich and changing to public when old, sick, and/or poor, such switches are made very difficult - and after 55 years of age you can generally not join the public scheme any more.

Jay198 wrote:

I will use the search feature, although a quick search did not reveal much.

Effectively searching for the information you need is a key skill of the Internet age, which is especially important when you move abroad. So you should try harder!
This was the most recent such thread (but the topic pops up every few months):
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=869063