Overview
- Thomas Lemke proposed limiting or requiring co‑payments for elective procedures such as hip and knee implants for people 80 and older, presenting it as an ethical cost debate while excluding emergency and standard care.
- Patient advocates condemned the idea as discriminatory, with Deutsche Stiftung Patientenschutz’s Eugen Brysch urging Lemke to consider resigning and pointing to statutory entitlements to medically necessary treatment.
- Political and medical leaders rejected age-based rationing, including CDU/CSU health spokeswoman Simone Borchardt and KBV chief Andreas Gassen, who said such cuts are neither necessary nor effective.
- Alternative cost controls highlighted by Gassen and others include reducing the number of hospitals, curbing drug spending, and properly financing non-insurance social costs through taxes, while Techniker Krankenkasse backs medical-necessity reviews and second opinions instead of age limits.
- Critics questioned financial motives given Sana’s ownership links to private insurers and warned of potential cost shifts to older privately insured patients, as coverage emphasized that no policy change is underway.