Days before the planned cabinet decision, the SPD warns against overburdening insured individuals with Health Minister Nina Warken's savings package. The SPD demands more cuts from pharmaceutical companies and efficiency measures. The Greens have presented their own counter-concept.
The SPD parliamentary group has sharply criticized Health Minister Nina Warken's (CDU) savings package. Health policy spokesman Christos Pantazis told the German Press Agency: «From our perspective, the central problem of statutory health insurance lies on the spending side, not the income side». He criticized an «imbalance» as expert proposals for efficiency gains were inadequately addressed.
SPD Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf demanded greater burdens on pharmaceutical companies. «A major lever lies with medicines», he told Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. Germany has the highest per capita drug spending in Europe. The package provides for relieving health funds by 19.6 billion euros next year, with spending caps on practices, clinics, and pharma, as well as higher co-payments.
Minister Warken expressed openness to changes as long as the volume is preserved. In «Bild am Sonntag», she rejected accusations: «We have also put the health funds on duty». The Greens propose lowering contributions by two percentage points by having the federal government cover costs for citizen's money recipients.
Additionally, Warken questioned the number of 93 statutory health funds. «Do we need so many funds?», she asked. CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann advocates reducing them to ten.
