Stable health insurance contributions in 2027? Coalition tables changes to savings package
CDU/CSU and SPD want to pass changes to the savings package this week. Insurers see 'not a millimeter of leeway'; the target is 2.9 percent.
Archive image · Photo: GodeNehler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Germany's coalition wants to keep statutory health insurance contributions as stable as possible in 2027 with a savings package. According to dpa, it is now tabling amendments it aims to pass in the coming week by attaching them to the emergency-care reform bill, which the Bundestag is expected to vote on Thursday. Savings of 18.8 billion euros are projected. The coalition has also promised the states 550 million euros more for hospitals than originally planned. Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) is insisting on sound financing.
Whether stability can be achieved is disputed: the average supplementary contribution is already 3.1 percent according to insurer data, against a political target of 2.9 percent. Insurers speak of 'not a millimeter of leeway', while the ministry stresses there are 'no cuts'. Doctors and insurers have agreed a 2.2 percent fee increase for practices in 2027.
An important financial forecast by the official estimates panel is expected Wednesday. On that basis the ministry sets the average supplementary contribution by Nov. 1, after which individual insurers decide their own rates. CDU/CSU and SPD also want to reintroduce an obligation for insurers to notify members of increases, by letter and also via the insurers' apps.