Economist Achim Truger has challenged the large number of civil servants in Germany, urging for the inclusion of all public servants within the statutory health insurance (GKV) system. Speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”, Truger suggested that the country should question whether such a high number of civil servants is necessary, pointing out that professions like teaching and university professorships, for example, might not require civil servant status.
From a long-term perspective, he argues that this integration would be beneficial for bringing public servants into the community’s system of solidarity, thereby preventing the emergence of a class structure. Truger firmly believes that keeping civil servants outside of the statutory health insurance is fundamentally incorrect, adding that the good salaries of these public employees could actually help strengthen the financial position of the GKV.
Truger also offered a critique of the health system’s unequal distribution of costs, which he argues disproportionately harms paid contributors. He asserted that the favorable position of civil servants is partly linked to the decline in the lives of others over the years. This decline, he points to, involves contributors frequently bearing the majority of healthcare costs for recipients of citizen’s income benefits, a situation he claims is exacerbated by the federal government shying away from its responsibilities.
