Before Nina Warken and the expert commission present reform proposals to the health insurers, German Green health‑policy politician Janosch Dahmen is demanding that the financing of citizen‑benefit recipients no longer be handled through the health insurance system. He told the magazine “Politico” that such out‑of‑insurance services must be covered by taxation instead of social‑security contributions. To offset the costs, Dahmen has suggested higher taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary products, claiming that the additional revenue would help keep health‑insurance premiums affordable.
Dahmen’s goal is to reduce premiums for both insured individuals and employers. He rejects cuts for insured people, stating that it would be wrong to “charge patients” for those services. Instead, he argues that reforms should focus on expenditure rather than revenue, as the system faces more of a budget‑spending problem than a shortfall of funds.
