Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Gordon Schnieder (CDU) is pushing for changes to the proposed package of healthcare insurance savings. According to the CDU politician, who spoke with ARD’s “Interview of the Week,” he is worried that cuts to the pharmaceutical industry could lead to reduced research in Germany. The regional head of government is particularly critical of the proposal that manufacturers should also be forced to offer discounts on patented medications, which they have invested heavily in researching.
Major pharmaceutical companies have reacted negatively to the federal government’s austerity plans, announcing that they will either stop or scale back intended investments in Rhineland-Palatinate. For example, the US conglomerate Eli Lilly plans to halve a €2.3 billion investment in Alzey, while Bohringer Ingelheim has completely scrapped planned spending of €900 million in Germany.
Schnieder pointed out that the Bundestag has only just begun its discussions on the healthcare reform. “Therefore, we must now work to adjust these levers so that the outcome is acceptable to all sides and we do not jeopardize our pharmaceutical hub,” he stated.
The new Minister-President sees Federal Finance Minister and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil as having a responsibility to compromise. Specifically, Schnieder demands that contributions to health insurance from recipients of citizen allowances be covered entirely by tax funding. Currently, the community of contributors bears the majority of these costs. “That is another 12 billion euros,” he claimed. “That is an enormous sum. This allows us to correct certain aspects of the statutory health insurance reform.”
Regarding the overall government reform package, Schnieder said that he views this week’s discussion round with social partners in the Chancellery as a “good start.” He asserted that everyone must now make concessions and be prepared for potentially painful cuts in order to maintain or expand prosperity.
In Schnieder’s view, the federal government should not let itself be influenced by the upcoming state elections in Eastern Germany. He rejects the idea of “reform windows.” Instead, he argued, “We should move out of the discussion that I am unable to make decisions because there is an election. We should move into the discussion stating: I will make the decisions when they are due, I will explain them properly to the people. The people will then also be willing to accept things that are not just personally advantageous for them.”
