Verena Bentele, president of the German social association VdK, warned that the German statutory health insurance system could face cuts in benefits. She told newspapers of the Funke Media Group in its Saturday edition that the VdK expects the commission’s proposals to relieve contributory payers and avoid reducing services. The key, according to Bentele, is to implement structural reforms that balance income and expenditures “without compromising the quality of care”.
The remarks come ahead of the Finanzkommission Gesundheit’s scheduled report on Monday, which will present a catalog of 60 cost‑saving proposals for the health sector. Bentele said that everyone must bear a share of the burden: the federal government should take responsibility for overarching social obligations in the statutory health insurance (GKV), and healthcare providers should observe a temporary moratorium on spending – she claimed this is a matter of fairness.
She also called for a more balanced financing scheme, including an increase in the contribution assessment ceiling and the inclusion of additional income types in the GKV. “The VdK strongly opposes the abolition of free family insurance as a hidden contribution rise-this contradicts the solidarity principle of the GKV and would disproportionately affect women and low‑income families” Bentele said. She warned that higher co‑payments for medicines or a return to fee‑for‑service consultations would impose an “unjust added burden” especially on chronically ill patients, seniors, and those with weak incomes.
