DGB chief Yasmin Fahimi has warned against raising contributions and cutting benefits in the health and long‑term care insurance debate. She told the newspaper group of the “Neuen Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft” that politicians should not get lost in trivial discussions about benefit reductions; instead, they must secure quality services by stopping inappropriate interference with health funds.
She pointed out that contributions to health and long‑term care insurance have risen “without an immediate improvement in care”. Reducing or eliminating services would not address the problem either. Instead, the focus should first be on entities that misuse the system, such as private‑equity firms that acquire hospitals and doctors’ practices with a view to maximizing profits at the expense of contributors.
Fahimi asserted that the health system must primarily serve people in Germany, not profit optimisation. She called for a discussion about how profit extraction in healthcare should be regulated, whether limits are needed, and urged scrutiny of budget allocations across the health system, the valuation of services in billing, and unusually high specialist fees.