Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) stated to the “Rheinische Post” that the coalition’s cabinet decision represents a compromise, and she insists that the statutory health insurance system (GKV) must achieve savings totaling €16 billion. She stressed that even in the event of possible adjustments, the overall savings must remain at this stipulated level of at least €16 billion to ensure the system is manageable and avoid imbalances.
Speaking to practicing physicians, Warken cautioned against scaling back appointment services due to the planned cost reductions. While acknowledging that the reform has alarmed doctors, she pointed out that the medical community received a significant cost increase of €20 billion over the past decade. She noted that a substantial portion of this money had been designated for reducing long wait times, a goal that was never fully achieved, resulting in some insured individuals still waiting too long for specialist appointments. Warken therefore considered the reintroduction of regulations in this area justified. However, she added that future increases in doctor compensation would remain possible, though they would, like all expenditures, be tied to revenue. She appealed to the doctors to avoid causing unnecessary panic and reminded everyone that legally insured patients maintain a right to timely appointments with their primary or specialist care physician, which she considers integral to the health system’s mandate.
In contrast, Warken expressed skepticism regarding the proposal to drastically reduce the number of health insurance carriers from over 90 down to 20, stating such a process was not straightforward and required careful examination of its impact. She was open to exploring the concept of establishing a minimum number of members required for carriers, arguing it could enhance administrative efficiency, but cautioned that this had not worked effectively in other regions.
Finally, regarding the demand from the North Rhine-Westphalia Health Minister, Karl-Josef Laumann, to extend the planned regulations to civil servants, Warken stated she could understand the rationale, as it is undesirable to create social disparities that could fuel resentment. She affirmed that she would be open to examining the possibility of adapting changes from the GKV for civil servants. However, she clarified that this issue falls outside her jurisdiction, as it concerns civil service law, and noted that state governments are entirely free to implement such changes for their own employees without federal involvement.