Overview
- An unpublished BDA paper outlines measures the group says could trim statutory health insurance spending by €30–50 billion a year.
- Key proposal: end contribution-free spousal co-insurance, requiring a minimum monthly payment of about €220 that the BDA estimates would yield €2.8 billion.
- The plan revives a €10 charge per doctor visit as a “contact fee,” replacing the abolished quarterly practice fee to curb unnecessary appointments.
- The paper calls for cutting VAT on medicines and medical aids to 7 percent, which it calculates would free roughly €5.3 billion annually.
- The BDA projects the package could lower average contribution rates by 1.5–2.0 percentage points, while officials caution the ideas are not policy as many funds expect to raise supplementary contributions.