Coalition plans to abolish free co-insurance for spouses

The German federal government plans to eliminate free co-insurance for spouses in statutory health and long-term care insurance. The move aims to plug budget shortfalls at health insurance funds and will make coverage more expensive for many families. Handelsblatt learned of this from coalition sources.

Reports from Berlin indicate that statutory health and long-term care insurance could become noticeably more expensive for many families. Millions of statutorily insured individuals currently benefit from free co-insurance for their spouses. The coalition aims to abolish this provision to address budget shortfalls at the health insurance funds. Handelsblatt obtained this information from coalition circles. Economists have praised the planned measure.

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Press conference photo of health insurance chief Andreas Gassen calling for abolition of voluntary services to save 1 billion euros amid 12 billion euro gap.
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Health insurers' chief demands abolition of voluntary services

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Andreas Gassen, chairman of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, calls for the complete elimination of voluntary additional services provided by statutory health insurance funds to achieve savings. He estimates the potential savings at nearly one billion euros per year. This comes amid a looming financing gap of twelve billion euros in the statutory health insurance system.

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