Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz reopened the issue after a Tuesday press conference when he said the coexistence of statutory and private health insurance is seen by many as unjust.
- His office later clarified he was noting public sentiment rather than presenting a formal plan, and no government proposal to abolish private insurance has been tabled.
- A t-online reader poll reported 73 percent of participants favor abolishing private insurance, with many readers citing faster specialist access and shorter waiting times for privately insured patients.
- The Private Health Insurance association and the German Medical Association warned that weakening private insurance would cut roughly €15.5 billion a year in extra funds and reduce higher fees that sustain practices, and they urged structural GKV reforms instead.
- The political split is clear: the SPD welcomed Merz's remarks as an opening for a Bürgerversicherung, while the CDU publicly retains its support for the dual system, leaving policy choices between full systemic change or reforms such as a mandatory primary-care first model.