Warken wants additional savings for stable health insurance contributions – States raise concerns

Background: Larger financial gap than expected

According to the minister, the original cabinet draft had still provided for a buffer of one billion euros. Due to the latest figures, the scope must now be seen as narrower. „Klar sei, dass der Spielraum damit insgesamt „noch etwas verengter“ sei“, so Warken. The draft is to be introduced in the Bundestag this Friday; for the first time, the Bundesrat will also deal with it.

The background to the tightening is increases in expenditure at the statutory health insurance funds that are higher than previously expected. „Die Ausgabendynamik bei den Kassen sei nach Zahlen des ersten Quartals höher als erwartet“, erklärte die Ministerin. This results in a further deficit of 3.5 billion euros. The black-red coalition wants to bring the sharply rising healthcare expenditures under control.

Planned measures in detail

Warken is planning spending brakes for medical practices, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry. The plans include, among other things, higher co-payments for medications as well as restrictions on the free co-insurance of spouses. The goal is to avoid new increases in supplementary contributions in the coming year. The savings law is to ensure that contribution rates remain stable.

At the same time, the minister warned of the consequences of refraining from savings. „Nur, wenn wir jetzt nichts machen würden, dann würden die Beitragssätze im nächsten Jahr erheblich steigen, und das wäre sehr viel teurer dann als die Dinge, die wir jetzt vorsehen. Deswegen ist es auch im Interesse aller, dass wir jetzt zu stabilen Beitragssätzen kommen“, sagte Warken. The details of the planned measures are now to be clarified in the parliamentary process.

Position of the states

However, the states view the plans extremely critically. Among the federal states, there are numerous objections to the planned cuts, especially with regard to the hospitals. Hamburg's Health Senator Melanie Schlotzhauer, coordinator of the SPD-led states, did not rule out a mediation procedure for parts of the group she represents. „Ich sage hier nicht, dass wir alle auf dem Weg sind in einen Vermittlungsausschuss. Ich will aber auch sagen, wir können ihn zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt jedenfalls in Teilen der Gruppe, die ich vertrete, nicht ausschließen“, sagte sie.

For the Union-led states, North Rhine-Westphalia's Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) formulated a dissenting position. It is „nicht das Ziel, ein Vermittlungsverfahren zu machen, sondern das Ziel muss sein, dass wir das vernünftig in den Gesetzgebungsprozessen lösen“, sagte er.

At the opening of the Conference of Health Ministers on Wednesday in Hanover, thousands of people had protested against the savings package. This increases the political pressure on the Federal Government in the upcoming parliamentary deliberations, in which the additional savings measures are now to be negotiated in detail.