Just days before the cabinet is due to adopt its draft for health insurance reform, the Green party has submitted an alternative concept through the Bundestag. This proposal not only aims to keep contribution rates stable but also mandates a reduction of two percentage points starting early next year.
Details outlined in the concept, reported by the Funke media group’s online platforms, suggest that such a reduction would ease the burden on employees in the middle income bracket by approximately 420 euros annually. For employees at the contribution ceiling, the relief could be as much as 700 euros per year, simultaneously providing relief to businesses totaling 15 billion euros annually.
Specifically, the Greens are pushing for several measures, including financing the health insurance contributions for recipients of the Bürgergeld benefit through state funds, enforcing a higher manufacturer discount on pharmaceuticals, and ensuring that the expenditures of the statutory health insurance are consistently linked to revenue growth.
The Green parliamentary faction is scheduled to hold a working session in Leipzig on Tuesday to formally adopt the concept. Meanwhile, the Federal Cabinet plans to put Health Minister Nina Warken’s draft into motion on Wednesday. Minister Warken aims to ease the statutory health insurance by nearly 20 billion euros by 2027. The Greens, however, point out that the Health Financial Commission had identified a potential savings volume of 42 billion euros. They argue that if certain measures are softened, others must be implemented with greater consistency.
Britta Haßelmann, the leader of the Greens parliamentary group, told the Funke newspapers that the Health Minister’s proposed plan shows “absolute imbalance”. She stated that it is possible simultaneously to strengthen the health sector while lowering contributions for everyone. Regarding the governing coalition, Haßelmann added, “They commission a reform committee, seem to kindly accept its suggestions-and then fail to implement them”.