The chief of the Chancellery, Thorsten Frei (CDU), affirmed the timeline for the planned healthcare reform despite ongoing internal discussions within the coalition government. Speaking to RTL and ntv, Frei stated, “Yes, it is extremely ambitious. We knew that from the start. But it must move forward”. He added, “It ultimately depends on managing the topic with a great deal of goodwill”.
Frei continued by acknowledging that various groups, each with different interests, would naturally express themselves. He dismissed this as nothing unusual or alarming. However, he stressed a key financial point: “The fact is that if we have to save over 15 billion euros for next year to keep contributions in stable healthcare, and 40 billion euros by 2030, we can only achieve it if we involve all participants in the system accordingly”. According to Frei, the crucial element is that all groups must contribute, ensuring that those observing the outcome perceive it as fair, meaning no single group is disproportionately burdened.
Regarding the debate about funding healthcare costs for recipients of citizen’s basic income (Bürgergeld), the chief of the Chancellery conceded that it would be correct if a higher portion came from tax revenues to the health insurance. While admitting this point, he highlighted the current structure of the statutory health insurance: “On the other hand, in the statutory health insurance, we essentially don’t have anyone who pays exactly the amount they use. Some pay more, others pay less. It is a solidarity system”. He noted that the fundamental problem of sufficient funding from tax money for recipients of basic income has not been solved over decades, concluding, “I would welcome it if we could solve it”.
Despite this, Frei considered paying the total sum of around twelve billion euros entirely from the federal budget to be unrealistic. “That is unrealistic, one must say this openly. Because this money does not exist in the federal budget. And I want to emphasize again: this is not a new problem; it is a decades-old problem in the Federal Republic of Germany. And therefore, I believe one must be very careful when creating the impression that it can be solved with a single stroke”.