Overview
- The BDA’s unpublished paper proposes scrapping contribution‑free family insurance for non‑earning spouses, reintroducing a €10 charge for every doctor visit, lowering VAT on medicines and aids to 7%, and issuing patient billing receipts into electronic records.
- The employers’ group estimates annual relief of €30–50 billion and says contribution rates could fall by 1.5–2 percentage points, citing potential monthly savings per side of roughly €41–€69.
- Ending free spousal coverage would require spouses to pay a minimum GKV contribution of about €220 per month, which the BDA projects would raise roughly €2.8 billion a year.
- Parties and unions condemn the ideas as unfair to families and low earners, with CDU’s labor wing calling the package unsocial, even as some conservatives push for broader benefit cuts.
- GKV’s Oliver Blatt reiterates that expenditures are outpacing revenues and expects higher Zusatzbeiträge in early 2026, while Health Minister Nina Warken’s commission is working toward reform proposals by spring 2026.