Friedrich Merz calls German health insurance wait times a fairness problem
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced plans to apply statutory health insurance reforms to private providers following state election defeats in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Statements on healthcare disparities
Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz addressed disparities between statutory and private healthcare insurance during a press conference in Berlin on 21 September 2026. Following election defeats for his party in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Merz acknowledged that medical care access influenced voter decisions. He stated that the perception of privately insured individuals receiving immediate treatment while statutory patients wait weeks or months represents a fundamental fairness problem. Merz pointed to discussions with North Rhine-Westphalia Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, who noted during a CDU federal board meeting that the coexistence of private and statutory insurance damages public trust. In his remarks, the chancellor noted the coalition had previously agreed to transfer statutory health insurance decisions to private insurance with equal effect, an initiative that has yet to be carried out.
There are good reasons for both systems, but if the population sees this as such a massive problem, and I share that assessment, then we have to change something about it. And that is exactly what we will talk about.
Clarifications from the Chancellery
Following the initial remarks, the Federal Chancellery moved to clarify the scope of the chancellor's statements regarding the dual health insurance model. A government spokesperson stated to the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers that the chancellor did not question the overarching system of health insurance itself. The spokesperson noted that Merz pointed to a growing public sense of injustice stemming from differing medical services between statutory and private policyholders. Current legislative efforts under the statutory health insurance contribution stabilization law aim to balance funds through spending cuts worth billions of euros, measures from which privately insured citizens have remained exempt. Black-red coalition discussions scheduled for the autumn focus on whether adjustments are required for statutory and private pension and nursing care systems to stabilize contribution rates for employers and employees.
- Karl-Josef Laumann raises healthcare insurance disparities at the CDU federal board meeting.
- Friedrich Merz identifies doctor wait time differences as a fairness problem during a Berlin press conference.
- The Federal Chancellery clarifies that the chancellor does not plan to abolish the dual health insurance system.
Reactions across coalition and opposition
The chancellor's comments prompted immediate responses from political allies, opposition figures, and patient advocates. Christos Pantazis, the health policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, welcomed the chancellor's statements and urged extending the discussion on fairness to nursing care insurance. Klaus Holetschek, the CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bavarian state parliament, warned against exceeding necessary boundaries during a CSU retreat in Kloster Banz, arguing that appointment scheduling issues should be solved through better patient steering rather than dismantling the dual system. Green party healthcare expert Janosch Dahmen argued that election losses drove the chancellor's sudden focus on medical waiting times and presented specific reform demands.
Appointments based on medical urgency instead of insurance status, a fair burden and risk adjustment between statutory and private health insurance, and solidary financing to which everyone contributes according to their means.
Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the chancellor recognized that the coexistence of both systems deepens social division, adding that patients now expect concrete policy proposals.
Housing legislation announcement
Alongside healthcare remarks, Merz addressed broader political developments following the election victory of Die Linke in the capital. The chancellor announced plans for rapid federal legislation to prohibit the expropriation or nationalization of private residential housing companies. Merz stated that initial draft texts had been coordinated between the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of the Interior to advance the legislative process. He emphasized that the initiative aims to provide legal certainty and reassure international investors that private property in Germany will not be subject to expropriation.
