The Workers’ Samaritan Association (ASB) has expressed strong disapproval of the draft regulations for the Care Ordering Law (PNOG). According to ASB CEO Uwe Martin Fichtmüller, the German government has lost the courage to undertake genuine reform. Instead of making care insurance future-proof, the current trajectory risks sustainably damaging solidarity in Germany. He stated that the draft is not a step forward, but a social regression that will abandon care recipients, devalue care workers, and compromise the credibility of the social state.
Fichtmüller particularly criticized the escalating co-payments (Eigenanteile) required from care recipients, while fundamental structural reforms were omitted. He remarked that while out-of-pocket costs are exploding, making necessary care unaffordable for more and more people, privileged special care systems for civil servants and parliamentarians remain untouched. He labeled this disparity not as justice, but as a bankruptcy declaration of social policy.
Furthermore, the ASB is opposed to the planned suspension of the duty of collective bargaining fidelity (Tariftreuepflicht). The association views this move as a direct attack on the working conditions of the people responsible for ensuring care security. According to Fichtmüller, the consequences will include precarious wages, a shortage of specialized staff, and a decline in quality-a reckless repetition of the mistakes made in the 1990s.
Concerns also surround the proposed cuts to benefits. Fichtmüller criticized the removal of the relief budget for care level 1 and the extension of length-of-stay categories, arguing that these measures would hit the most vulnerable the hardest. In response, the association is demanding a complete tax funding of non-insurance-related services, that the federal government repay the care insurance’s COVID-19 debts, and a cap on co-payments.
Although the ASB positively views the planned strengthening of prevention and digitalization efforts, the overall atmosphere is highly critical. Fichtmüller summarized the perceived half-hearted approach: “Prevention remains a mere duty, digitalization is being planned without adequate personnel, and relief for care recipients remains an empty promise”. The ASB urged the federal government to correct its course and introduce a true reform that prioritizes solidarity and fairness.
