Following protests from unions and insured individuals against the complete removal of cost-free supplementary insurance for spouses with no income in the statutory health insurance system, the governing coalition is now discussing provisions for exceptions. According to “Der Spiegel” political experts from the CDU/CSU and SPD are currently debating how to maintain the free health insurance coverage for relatives providing care and also for parents. Dirk Wiese, the parliamentary leader for the SPD parliamentary group, stated that “the issue of cost-free supplementary insurance concerns many citizens” adding that it is a major topic in constituencies. He further noted that there are situations where earning a living is difficult or impossible, such as when childcare spots are unavailable or when relatives need to be cared for, stressing, “This cannot be dismissed, and we take this very seriously”.
The expert commission tasked with financing the statutory health insurance proposed limiting cost-free supplementary insurance to parents of children under six years old. All other individuals would then need to pay €240 monthly for their health insurance, following the commission’s suggestion. According to the commission’s calculations, this could generate additional revenue of up to 3.5 billion euros. However, Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has already announced that she does not intend to implement these proposals entirely as they are. Warken told the FAZ that no one should be unduly burdened. Currently, approximately 16 million family members benefit from cost-free supplementary insurance, the majority of whom are children. Depending on the specific design of any reform, up to three million spouses could be affected.