During discussions surrounding the healthcare reform, and ahead of the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) faced significant criticism from the German Caritasverband. During a visit to the Funke Media Group’s newspapers, Caritas President Eva Welskop-Deffaa stated that the draft law proposed by Minister Warken is urgently in need of revision, arguing that the reform package exhibits a clear social imbalance.
According to Welskop-Deffaa, the plan fails to exhaust potential savings within the costly pharmaceutical industry. Instead, the current approach risks cutting essential “solidary elements” of the statutory health insurance system by imposing restrictions on family coverage, increasing co-payments, and making cuts to sickness benefits. She stressed that stabilizing contributions and fundamentally restructuring the healthcare system, as desired by Minister Warken, is absolutely vital. She pointed out that steadily rising contribution costs often lead to increasing premiums for insured individuals, even as household disposable income shrinks, potentially leaving the available healthcare services unable to keep pace with those provided by neighboring European countries.
Regarding funding, Caritas questioned the proposed measure to finance basic benefits for public aid recipients solely through the federal budget. She suggested a staged plan, arguing that a contribution-based social security system cannot sustain costs amounting to twelve billion euros annually if those funds are not systemically secured through taxation.
The Caritasverband urged the federal government to engage in constructive discussions toward a comprehensive reform package. This reform, they insisted, must secure quality and accessibility of care regardless of a person’s income or location, especially for those who are chronically ill or acutely dependent on help.
Separately, Caritas expressed support for CDU politician Friedrich Merz regarding pension reform discussions. Welskop-Deffaa quoted Merz, who had spoken at the CDA’s 80th birthday celebration in Marburg, emphasizing that the statutory pension system remains the primary “basic safeguard”. He argued that it is uniquely positioned to offer not only old-age retirement but also protection in cases of reduced working capacity, thereby comprehensively linking pensions and rehabilitation services.
Caritas agreed with the Chairman that maintaining a strong, solidary system for old-age security is necessary. Welskop-Deffaa affirmed that they would take Merz’s statement seriously, stating they would evaluate future reform steps based on his demonstrated commitment to social justice and to a union focused on the citizen.
Merz himself had addressed the banking association, suggesting that the statutory pension may only function as a foundational security net for the elderly in the future. This stance was reaffirmed at the Bundestag meeting of the Christian Democratic Association (CDA) in Marburg, where Merz clarified his remarks. He emphasized that while the statutory pension remains the basic structure for the retirement system and should not be limited, discussions must broaden beyond simply maintaining minimum support levels. Instead, policymakers must consider all three pillars-statutory, occupational, and private-and establish a new relationship among them.
