Markus Blumenthal-Beier, head of the German house doctors' association, calls on statutory health insurers to cut their administrative costs. He proposes halving them mid-term rather than restricting patient care. CSU politician Klaus Holetschek advises seeking cooperations and mergers.
Amid debates on rising costs in Germany's statutory health insurance, Markus Blumenthal-Beier criticizes the insurers' administrative expenses. «Health insurers could ask their members what they prefer to pay contributions for: finding a house doctor's practice in future or financing 90 insurers», he told the Rheinische Post. He demands: «It's time for insurers to apply the red pen to themselves, not just to their insureds' care». Administrative costs should be halved mid-term. There are currently 93 statutory health insurers in Germany, down from 1,815 in 1970 and 420 at the millennium. Klaus Holetschek, CSU parliamentary group leader in Bavaria's state parliament, advises insurers to «seek synergies, expand cooperations and initiate mergers proactively – before legislators act». Last year, insurers recorded a surplus after contribution hikes, but expenses rose sharply. Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) states that since 2024, spending on hospital treatments, medicines and practice services has outpaced revenues. An expert panel will present stabilization proposals by late March, with broader reforms by year-end. This addresses a projected multi-billion euro funding gap for 2027.
