"We Need to Steady the Ship Here," Says Klingbeil as He Vows Federal Aid to Struggling Health Insurers
Klingbeil vows to inject funds into the health insurance system
In response to a distress call from the new Health Minister, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has promised a hefty injection of federal budget cash to low-float health and care insurance funds. However, he made it abundantly clear that this ain't a permanent fix - the fiscal duct tape can't hold the boat together forever. The exact dollar figure remains under wraps.
The tight-lipped Finance Minister spoke to the German Press Agency (dpa) about the dire state of the health and care insurance funds and pledged to shore them up. "The situation in the health and care insurance is grim, and we've got to get a handle on it," said the SPD leader. "But we can't keep dousing the fires with tax dollars," he cautioned, channeling his inner Captain Obvious.
While Klingbeil reiterated the coalition agreement's promise of "game-changing and gutsy" structural reforms, he termed the immediate trouble as a storm that required more than just changing the galley's rations. Previously, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken had demanded billions for both insurance systems to bolster their books and prevent a steady rise in premiums.
Warken, the CDU politician, put her accounting hat on and pointed out the elephant in the room: the federal government is allegedly millions, if not billions, in the red with the health and care insurance funds, thanks in part to gaping holes like uncollected contributions from citizens' allowance recipients and outstanding bills from the coronavirus era. Warken claimed the arrears amounted to a cool ten billion euros for citizens' allowance recipients and almost six billion in federal corona debts.
But Klingbeil, ever the fiscal sailor, steered clear of getting bogged down in Warken's numbers game and didn't endorse or deny her figures. Instead, he stressed the need for innovation and creativity, warning against cutting services and making citizens work longer hours. Instead, he suggested exploring alternative streams of revenue for the health and care systems, like redirecting funds from employee pension plans.
Klingbeil also supported Labor Minister Barbara Bas's controversial idea of including civil servants in the statutory pension insurance, highlighting the importance of keeping an open mind during the debates. The proposal, however, had already been vetoed by the Chancellery due to its lack of explicit mention in the coalition agreement.
References:- ntv.de- mau
- Lars Klingbeil
- Health insurance companies
- Statutory health insurance funds
- Care insurance
- Nina Warken
- The Finance Minister, Lars Klingbeil, has advocated for innovation and creativity in addressing the financial challenges facing social security, such as health insurance and care insurance, claiming that redirecting funds from employee pension plans could be a possible solution.
- In the midst of the ongoing crisis, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken identified a need for substantial funding for both insurance systems to prevent an escalation in premiums, drawing attention to millions, if not billions, in alleged arrears from citizens' allowance recipients and federal coronavirus-related debts amounting to nearly six billion euros.
- Klingbeil, acknowledging the serious state of health and wellness industry, including medical-conditions and science, has proposed exploring alternative revenue streams as an alternative to cutting services or making citizens work longer hours, noting the importance of maintaining social security in the process.
