Leading doctors’ federation president, Klaus Reinhardt, urged the black-red coalition to halt the process of passing the savings package for statutory health insurance prior to the summer parliamentary recess.
Speaking at a doctors’ day event, Reinhardt criticized the proposed legislation, stating that such a sweeping law cannot be rushed through. He emphasized that all stakeholders require adequate time to thoroughly evaluate the planned measures and determine their actual impact on patient care. “Nothing should be decided before the summer break” he insisted. Instead, he suggested that the Federal Minister of Health convene all parties involved, including the Federal Minister of Finance, to collaboratively develop viable alternative concepts based on clearly defined objectives.
Reinhardt expressed particular alarm regarding the coalition’s plans to generally cut tax subsidies for health insurance. He warned that this constitutes “budgetary consolidation at the expense of insured people, patients, and indirectly, employees in the healthcare sector”. He stressed that while stabilizing the finances of statutory health insurance is necessary, a system organized on principles of solidarity must not prioritize fiscal regulations that directly impact care provision. Instead, Reinhardt argued that the primary benchmark must be the medically necessary care requirements of the population.
Furthermore, he argued that distributing burdens fairly is crucial, explicitly calling out the Federal Minister of Finance in this regard. He suggested that if the federal government finally covered the services not covered by insurance, the debate over austerity laws would not be necessary today. Instead, he noted that the Federal Minister of Finance threatens the system by removing additional funds, thereby worsening the financial situation of the statutory health insurance. For instance, the subsidy allocated to the Health Fund is set to drop by 1.75 billion euros in 2027-a move he characterized as “budgetary consolidation at the expense of insured people, patients, and indirectly, employees in the healthcare sector”.
He added that overworked staff, increasing performance pressure, and tighter daily routines are already a reality for these groups. Reinhardt concluded by warning that a system relying on individual exhaustion to cover structural deficits is inherently unsustainable. Therefore, he firmly stated that the necessary time for the federal government, the states, and the self-governing bodies to assess the measures’ effects on patient care must be respected, and no decisions should be made before the summer pause.