Overview
- Over the weekend the SPD said it will not support a cabinet package that cuts benefits, with party figures Tim Klüssendorf and Matthias Miersch calling the draft a "pure cuts" plan.
- The statutory long‑term care insurance is reported to run a gap of more than €4 billion this year and about €8 billion for 2027, creating immediate pressure for savings or new funding.
- Health Minister Carsten Linnemann wants a short‑term savings package and an independent expert commission for structural reform and has dropped a planned cut to carers' pension contributions.
- Union and SPD leaders have scheduled a crisis meeting for Monday to seek a compromise and the planned cabinet vote on Wednesday is now unlikely to go ahead.
- Unions and patient groups praised the SPD resistance, private insurers and parts of the Union warned that blocking action risks insolvency, and the SPD proposes measures such as a €1,500 monthly cap on care-related out‑of‑pocket costs and contributions from privately insured people.