Warken defends health reform plan in Bundestag as opposition parties condemn cuts
Health Minister Nina Warken defended her health insurance reform in the Bundestag on Friday, arguing it is essential to close a projected €19 billion deficit, while opposition parties decried it as socially unjust and warned of worsening staff shortages.
Reform debate opens
Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) told the Bundestag on Friday that her proposed reform of the statutory health insurance (GKV) is unavoidable, given a projected deficit of “knapp 19 Milliarden” euros for 2027. “Our law demands something of everyone, but nothing unreasonable of anyone,” Warken said, calling the plan a signal that the government is capable of reform. The bill, which the coalition aims to pass before the summer recess in mid-July, includes limits on free co-insurance for spouses, higher co-payments for medication, and cost-cutting measures on doctors’ practices, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.
Opposition outrage
Opposition lawmakers from the Greens, Left Party and AfD rejected the plan as socially regressive and ineffective during the first reading. Green health spokesperson Janosch Dahmen accused the government of basing the reform on false cost assumptions. “With this insufficiently effective, unbalanced and obviously poorly made law, despite devastating cuts in care, you will not prevent premium increases for 2027,” he said. AfD’s Martin Sichert claimed the reform would cost lives by worsening health services, while Left Party MP Stella Merendino branded it a “chainsaw reform” that saves money where people are cared for and treated.
Widening funding gap
The ministry now expects the GKV deficit for 2026 to be €3.5 billion higher than previously forecast, according to preliminary first-quarter figures. Warken said the financial buffer in the cabinet’s draft, originally €1 billion, is already exhausted. Although the reform was designed to relieve the health funds by at least €16.3 billion in 2027, she now says an additional €2.5 billion in savings will be needed to achieve premium stability.
- Previous deficit forecast
- 15.3 € bn
- Updated deficit forecast
- 18.8 € bn
- Previous savings target
- 16.3 € bn
- Updated savings target
- 18.8 € bn
Resistance mounts
The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) criticized the approach as “cosmetic premium rates at the expense of the insured” and said the parliamentary process should correct what it called a misguided path. Patient protection advocate Eugen Brysch urged that remuneration be tied to patient outcomes rather than the number of doctor-patient contacts. Meanwhile, Bundesrat committees are demanding the removal of several spending brakes, especially for hospitals, with the state chamber set to vote on those recommendations on Friday.
