Overview
- In a WELT TV appearance, Streeck questioned prescribing very expensive medications to very old patients and called for clearer, binding guidance within medical self-governance.
- He pointed to advanced cancers and a hypothetical 10% mortality reduction study as examples, asking whether a 100-year-old should receive such therapies, while citing his father’s end-of-life care.
- Green lawmaker Janosch Dahmen labeled the idea legally, medically and economically unsound, FDP deputy Wolfgang Kubicki denounced it as "cold cynicism," and SPD’s Karl Lauterbach rejected age-based rationing as unethical.
- The Federal Medical Association welcomed the discussion but stressed that treatment should be based on patient preferences, prognosis and quality of life rather than age or cost.
- Reporters noted that any formal changes would go through the Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, health spending was estimated at €538 billion in 2024, and no policy or guideline changes have been announced.