"We've got to hold the line here" - Klingbeil vows federal funds for ailing health insurers
Klingbeil pledges injection of funds into health insurance tax revenues.
In response to a plea from the new health minister, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has vowed to dip into the federal budget to support the beleaguered health and care insurance funds. However, he made it crystal clear that this bandaid won't be a permanent fix for the problem. The exact amount of the financial lifeline remains hush-hush.
Speaking to the German Press Agency (dpa), Klingbeil, the SPD bigwig, acknowledged the grim state of affairs in the health and care insurance sector, emphasizing the need for immediate stabilization. Yet, he cautioned that desperate measures like simply chucking more tax dollars at the problem aren't sustainable solutions.
Politics Cash infusion to needy social security systems
Klingbeil referred to the agreement in the coalition deal, promising to collaborate with experts to devise fundamental and gutsy structural reforms for the social security systems. Previously, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken had called for coffers bulging with billions for both insurance sectors to improve their fiscal health and keep contribution rates from ballooning. Both insurance branches are in the red.
Warken points out hefty deficits from the federal government
The CDU lady noted that the federal government bears much of the blame for the multibillion-euro deficits in the health and care insurance, partly due to uncovered contributions for citizens' allowance recipients and non-insurance-related services from the COVID-19 period. She put the deficit for citizens' allowance recipients at a whopping €10 billion and the federal COVID-19 debts at nearly €6 billion. Klingbeil danced around her arguments and kept mum about the promised federal subsidy's magnitude.
Politics "First volley" - federal government pumps millions into health insurers
Klingbeil stressed that a robust social safety net means the conscientious should be able to depend on it. "So, instead of barking orders like 'work longer' or 'chop services' in healthcare, let's show a bit of ingenuity," he suggested. Klingbeil also defended labor minister Barbara Bas' proposal to include civil servants in the statutory pension insurance scheme. "For my part, I think we can have a chat about who foots the bill for the pension fund and the amount," the minister emphasized. Klingbeil: "That's an essential conversation, and we need this openness." The Chancellery had already rejected the proposal, claiming it wasn't in the coalition accord.
Source: ntv.de, mau
- Lars Klingbeil
- Health insurers
- Statutory health insurers
- Care insurance
- Nina Warken
The German government faces a significant funding gap in the statutory health and care insurance sector, with projected 2024 expenditures of around €313.7 billion outstripping income of approximately €280.4 billion[5]. To maintain the financial stability of the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) system and keep contribution rates from skyrocketing further, the government is considering systemwide reforms focused on both cost savings and system restructuring.
- Investment Sector Oversight: The government intends to introduce legislation increasing transparency for Investor-Owned Medical Care Centers (iMVZ) to ensure proper use of funds, but without imposing strict geographic or quota-based restrictions to preserve investment opportunities in outpatient care facilities[3].
- Comprehensive Hospital Reform: By summer 2025, this reform aims to revamp hospital remuneration by shifting from current flat-rate Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payments to a system emphasizing compensation for maintaining or providing specific core services (so-called Vorhaltepauschalen). Hospitals will be classified into defined "service groups" to regulate their service offerings, with a three-year transition phase leading to full implementation by 2027. This change is designed to encourage hospital specialization, regional care planning, and efficient resource allocation across the hospital sector[3].
These reforms aim to address the financial woes of the insurance funds while promoting transparency and quality in the broader healthcare system. The government seeks a sustainable balance of income and expenditure in SHI without further draining the pockets of policyholders with increased contribution rates[3][5].
- Klingbeil's promise of federal funds for ailing health and care insurance funds includes the commitment to collaborate with experts to devise structural reforms for the social security systems.
- The CDU's Nina Warken highlighted multibillion-euro deficits in the health and care insurance sector, partially due to uncovered contributions for citizens' allowance recipients and non-insurance-related services from the COVID-19 period.
- To maintain the financial stability of the statutory health insurance system, the German government is considering system-wide reforms that focus on cost savings and system restructuring, such as increased transparency for Investor-Owned Medical Care Centers and comprehensive hospital reform.
