Klaus Reinhardt, the President of the German Medical Association, has urged the coalition government to halt plans for a major savings package for statutory health insurance before the Bundestag takes its summer break. Speaking ahead of the annual doctors’ conference, Reinhardt stated that such a sweeping law cannot be forced through. He emphasized that all involved parties require ample time to thoroughly examine the intended measures and their resulting impact on patient care. He cautioned that nothing should be decided until after the summer recess.
Instead of pushing through cuts, Reinhardt suggested that the Federal Minister of Health should convene all stakeholders, including the Federal Finance Minister, to develop viable alternative concepts based on clearly defined goals.
Reinhardt strongly criticized the coalition’s plans to reduce tax subsidies for health insurance in general. He lamented that such measures represent “fiscal consolidation at the expense of insured individuals, patients, and indirectly, employees in the healthcare sector”. While he acknowledged the necessity of stabilizing the finances of the statutory healthcare system (GKV), he stressed that such a system, which is organized based on solidarity, must not allow its services to become the primary focus of fiscal requirements, especially when those requirements directly impact patient care. Instead, the primary measure should be the full medical necessity of care required by the population.
To achieve stability, he argued, the burden must be distributed fairly, a point that explicitly includes the Federal Finance Minister. Reinhardt argued that if the federal government finally covered non-insurance related services, the country would not need to debate austerity laws today. Instead, he pointed out that the Federal Finance Minister is currently diminishing the system further by withdrawing funds and intensifying the financial difficulties of the GKV. He cited the projected drop of 1.75 billion euros in the federal subsidy to the Health Fund in 2027 as part of this detrimental trend.
Reinhardt pointed out that the system cannot sustain itself by relying on individual staff members to compensate for structural deficits. In his view, the current reality already includes unpaid extra work, increasing service pressure, and tighter schedules for healthcare workers. Therefore, rushing forward with sweeping legislation is impossible. He reiterated that ample time is needed for the federal government, the states, and the self-governing bodies to assess the consequences of the planned measures on patient care, and that nothing should be decided before the summer intermission.
