Health care reform: Tschentscher calls health insurance reform a failure

Hamburg’s mayor Peter Tschentscher has criticized the austerity package for statutory health insurance passed by the Bundestag as a “mistake by the federal government”. “We would have liked to correct that,” the SPD politician told the German Press Agency and regretted that the law did not go to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

A corresponding motion did not find a majority in the state chamber.

Debt and tax gifts make the federal government unable to act

Tschentscher criticized the fact that non-insurance benefits are not financed by taxes, but are instead borne solely by the contributors. “These are large sums in the billions that fall solely on the insured,” he said.

The reason is the failed tax and financial policy of the black and red parties Federal Governmentwhich on the one hand provides for high levels of debt without there being a plan for financing the loans or repaying them. On the other hand, you make yourself incapable of action “with tax gifts from the watering can”. “And now the federal government lacks the financial strength to finance urgently needed things, as can be seen with the statutory health insurance reform,” said Tschentscher.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:260711-930-368425/1