Health Minister Warken Opposes Two-Tier Health Insurance System
BERLIN – Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has firmly rejected proposals to divide Germany’s statutory health insurance system into basic coverage and supplemental tariffs, stating that access to medical care should not depend on an individual’s financial status.
Speaking to the Editorial Network Germany (RND), Warken emphasized the importance of maintaining solidarity within the healthcare system. “How a person receives medical care should not depend on their wallet,” she said. “I think it is indeed very difficult to divide it into a kind of short tariff with basic services and additional insurance.” She warned that such a system would create a “form of two-tier medicine,” adding, “The solidarity system is an achievement that I don’t want to give up.”
Warken’s comments come as the government prepares for a major financial reform of the health insurance system, projected to face a double-digit billion euro deficit by 2027. A key component of the planned reform is a new primary doctor system designed to manage costs and improve care coordination.
“It is absolutely clear that we need a clever incentive system for this,” Warken stated, outlining potential bonuses for patients who utilize their family doctors and extra fees for those seeking direct access to specialists. “There’s a bonus if I stick to the family doctor route. Or there’s an extra fee if I want to go straight to a specialist,” she explained. “It won’t work without such control.”
The Minister also dismissed a proposed specialist tariff advocated by Andreas Gassen, head of statutory health insurance physicians, arguing that the focus should be on improving care access for all.”It’s about better care and not about buying a service that is not necessary or appropriate,” Warken said, reiterating her commitment to a “system for everyone” where “Anyone who needs a specialist appointment must receive it within a reasonable time.”
