The Social Association of Germany (SoVD) has reaffirmed its criticism regarding the planned statutory health insurance (GKV) reform. Michaela Engelmeier, the chairwoman of the SoVD, told the “Rheinische Post” that the “savings law” constitutes a “package of burdens for insured persons and patients.”
Engelmeier added that the governing coalition is presenting a reduction in cuts as an achievement. The cabinet draft had initially allocated a federal subsidy of two billion euros. If this figure is now reduced to around 1.45 billion euros, there would still be a shortfall of approximately 650 million euros compared to the current status quo starting in 2027-which she deemed simply insufficient.
She demanded that there should be no cuts to the federal subsidy, asserting that the federal government must not continue to shift broad societal responsibilities onto the contributors of the statutory health insurance. This burden should particularly not fall on individuals receiving basic social security benefits regarding healthcare costs. Furthermore, she pointed out that the newly proposed federal funds are inadequate, especially considering that actual annual costs could reach as high as twelve billion euros.
