Health costs in focus: AOK Council calls for reforms for emergency care

Health costs in focus: AOK Council calls for reforms for emergency care

On November 7, 2025, the AOK Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg district council dealt with an explosive topic: the rising costs in the health system. At the Tuttlingen District Hospital, managing director Dr. Sebastian Freytag gave an insightful lecture on the need for efficient emergency care. During the subsequent tour of the central emergency room and the cardiac catheterization laboratory, the district council members were able to see first hand how important these services are for the population.

During the discussion about the cost increases, Harald Rettenmaier, managing director of AOK Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg, raised a critical point: the state does not finance the contributions for citizens' benefit recipients sufficiently with tax revenue. This situation means that two thirds of the costs are passed on to those paying statutory health insurance contributions. The members of the district council agree that this cannot work in the long term.

Financial challenges in detail

Markus Fink, the chairman of the AOK district council, brought the issue to the point and emphasized that paying these costs is a task for society as a whole, which should also be financed from tax revenues. What is particularly alarming is the fact that the flat rate that the federal government pays for ALG II recipients has not come close to covering costs in recent years. According to Richard Ochmann, Iges project manager for health policy, in 2022 this should actually have been 311.45 euros instead of 119.60 euros per month in order to cover the necessary costs.

The ongoing financial difficulties are compounded by the fact that health care costs for ALG II recipients have increased by 15 percent since 2016, from 2,368 euros to 2,735 euros per month. Despite the reduced number of benefit recipients, the total expenditure of the health insurance funds fell from 15.486 billion euros in 2016 to 15.127 billion euros in 2022. These savings are largely due to reduced administrative costs.

A look into the future

Looking to the future, the pressure on statutory health insurance companies will not decrease. Barbara Neff, deputy managing director of AOK Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg, also criticized the fact that the federal funds in the form of a loan were not sufficient and would have to be repaid in the future. Clear measures are needed here to guarantee fair and sustainable financing of health care.

It is clear that the debate about the financing of healthcare in Germany is not just a theoretical matter, but one of the central issues affecting society. A solution can only be found through comprehensive discussion and cooperation - after all, it is about the health of all citizens.