"Healthcare Overhaul: A Quality, Not Quantity, Issue" German Employers Rebuff Call for Higher Health Insurance Contributions
Opposing Increase in Employer's Sickness Insurance Contribution Limit
Germany's healthcare system is bracing for changes as employers balk at the proposal to increase contribution limits for health insurance due to the funds' precarious financial situation. According to Steffen Kampeter, Chief Executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), the country's most expensive healthcare system demands quality reforms rather than merely boosting funds [1][2].
In a conversation with Funke media group newspapers, Kampeter argued that the healthcare system doesn't suffer from an income problem but from woeful quality issues, particularly within healthcare policy [1]. As a solution, he stressed the need for significant political reform initiatives that fortify the system, making it affordable, sustainable, and patient-friendly.
The BDA chief criticized elevating the contribution ceiling as equivalent to a substantial tax hike on labor. Previously, SPD health expert Christos Pantazis suggested higher health contributions for high earners, proposing a substantial rise in the contribution ceiling, approaching the level of the pension insurance ceiling [1]. The Union faction, however, dismissed Pantazis' proposal.
The contribution assessment ceiling refers to the maximum gross salary up to which social security contributions are levied, with earnings beyond this bracket escaping contributions. Currently, Germany's contribution assessment ceiling for health insurance stands at €5,512.50, whereas the pension insurance ceiling is much higher at €8,050 [1].
Kampeter emphasized the heavy burden on employees in Germany, stating that an excessive amount of their earned income is eaten away by taxes and contributions. Instead, he advocated consolidation of the hospital landscape, improved basic care, efficient basic security, and increased personal responsibility among insured individuals [1].
Interestingly, the German healthcare system is undergoing significant overhauls, including the proposed implementation of a mandatory family doctor system and the Hospital Care Improvement Act. However, the BDA's stance on these reforms remains unclear [3]. The employer association generally concentrates on labor market and economic issues, although their viewpoint on healthcare reforms may materialize through official statements or releases.
References:[1] ntv.de, AFP[2] bda.de[3] bundestag.de
- Steffen Kampeter, the Chief Executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), believes that the German healthcare system should focus on quality reforms, rather than increasing funds.
- According to Kampeter, the German healthcare system is not facing an income problem but rather suffers from serious quality issues, particularly within healthcare policy.
- Kampeter argues that elevating the contribution ceiling would be equivalent to a substantial tax hike on labor.
- The BDA has emphasized the heavy burden on employees in Germany, suggesting the need for consolidation of the hospital landscape, improved basic care, efficient basic security, and increased personal responsibility among insured individuals.
