The service union Verdi has sharply criticized the government’s current plans for reductions within the healthcare sector. According to Verdi regional board member Sylvia Bühler, these proposed cuts primarily impact insured individuals, people in need of care, and healthcare employees. The union stated that the workers involved in both general and geriatric care will not tolerate this “attack on their working and living conditions”.
Bühler specifically referenced the draft legislation aimed at reforming the health insurance system, alongside general plans for cost savings in long-term care insurance. She argued that instead of ensuring a sustainable and solidary funding model, the plan threatens the social nursing insurance with a package of cuts that negatively affects both those requiring care and the employees providing it.
The criticisms were directed at the Federal Minister of Health, Nina Warken (CDU), who had proposed measures such as lower subsidies for residents and substandard staffing levels in nursing homes. Furthermore, Bühler objected to the government’s plan to finance services for insurance-exempt individuals, such as pension benefits for caring relatives, using general taxpayer money.
Regarding the statutory health insurance itself, a draft law is already available that proposes higher co-payments and reduced services for insured people, as well as a decline in the necessary funds for tariff increases and care provided in hospital beds. Bühler dismissed these plans as a “declaration of war” predicting that hospital employees would respond with a forceful counter-response. In preparation for this, reports indicate that protests by hospital staff are already being organized.
