Overview
- Coalition leaders held urgent talks late Sunday into Monday at the Kanzleramt and continued negotiations by phone after the SPD publicly refused to back Health Minister Carsten Linnemann’s draft.
- The dispute centres on who will pay: the SPD demands a contribution from private long‑term care insurers and a cap on residents’ co‑payments while the Union insists on spending cuts and rejects constitutional hurdles as irresolvable.
- Official estimates cited across coverage warn of a roughly €10 billion financing shortfall for 2027 and say the statutory care insurance could face liquidity stress as early as October if no measures are agreed.
- The Deutscher Pflegerat and care professionals say the draft would raise access hurdles, weaken tariff protections and worsen staffing pressures, prompting calls for a comprehensive overhaul rather than a pure savings package.
- With a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday and no agreement reached, ministers now must find credible new revenues or reallocations quickly to avoid rushed choices that could hurt care access, workers’ pay and the system’s solvency.