Rösler's health care reform contradicts the Basic Law

Reorganization of the health system by coalition unconstitutional?

(26.07.2010) Following the vehement criticism of Rösler's health reform plans by employers, trade unions, social organizations, the opposition, individual CDU prime ministers and even health insurance representatives, there are even constitutional concerns.

After numerous criticisms of the drafts for the reorganization of the health service, Federal Health Minister Philipp Rösler (CDU) threatens new disaster. An opinion commissioned by the SPD on the draft of the coalition comes to the conclusion that the publicly presented plans of Rösler are unconstitutional.

The report was written by lawyers specializing in social security and administrative law and employment promotion law and vice president of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Ginger Ebsen worked out. According to him, the as „social compensation“ amount for low earners is contrary to the German Basic Law. In the future, the statutory health insurance funds should be able to collect additional contributions and no longer have to comply with the rule that the contributions must not exceed 1 percent of the gross income. For low-income earners and pensioners but it should be mentioned „social compensation“ give. Professor Ebsens' report indicates that the gross salary in this case would be calculated on the basis of salary and benefits from the statutory pension insurance. Amounts due to occupational pensions or other old-age provisions, survivor's pensions or second jobs should therefore be disregarded in the calculation. As a result, social compensation can often reach the non-needy.

According to the SPD, the SPD has already confronted the FDP man Rösler from Lower Saxony and the Federal Ministry of Health under his leadership with the absurdities. The answer was that the cases mentioned would be rarities that could be dealt with. But here too, the SPD immediately followed suit: The Saarbrücken-based federal chairman of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialdemokratischer Frauen (ASF) and MEP Elke Ferner, responsible for health and social affairs in the SPD parliamentary group, told the news agency DAPD that it was „alone with the German pension insurance 4.4 million pensioners“ should give, „which receive more than one pension payment only from the German pension insurance“.

One may therefore be curious about what Rösler's health ministry will present after the summer break to draft bills for the reform and the additional contributions. (Tf)

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Picture: A. Rausch, Pixelio.de