Tailwind for citizen insurance
A clear majority wants to abolish private health insurance companies
09.09.2025Reading time: 3 min.
The Germans want a radical reform of health insurance. Instead of two different systems, according to the will of the citizens, there should be a uniform.
In order to prevent further increase in premiums, the federal government wants to get a reform on the way. In autumn, an expert commission is used to submit suggestions in 2026. A community parliament has meanwhile developed its own proposals for social and tax reforms. These were presented to the public on Monday. 74.4 percent of Germans would support the complete abolition of private health insurance, instead there should only be one for a uniform health insurance.
The T-Online editorial team was able to reproduce a similar result in a separate survey (as of September 9, 12 p.m.): Of the over 11,500 people who took part in the survey, 68.5 percent support the abolition of private health insurance.
Most (53 percent) would advocate standardized citizen insurance. However, 15 percent voted to maintain the diversity of the statutory health insurance companies. 29.4 percent want to maintain private health insurance.
Politically, the idea is nothing new: For many years, the introduction of citizens’ insurance has been in the election programs of the SPD, Greens and Left. Against this idea are the Union, AfD and FDP. It is therefore unlikely that such a reform will be appealed to in the current government coalition.
It is also controversial whether the merging of the two systems would rather help or harm. Proponents of the citizens’ insurance point out that doctors who today only treat private patients would be available for more legally insured persons by abolishing the two -class system, which could improve care. A study by the Bertelsmann Foundation has also shown that the contribution rate due to the merger could drop by an average of 0.2 percent. That would also be a positive development for the economy.
However, critics warn that the 65,000 people who work for private insurance are without work. There are also constitutional concerns for those who have been depositing to private health insurance companies for many years. These people could be entitled to repayment of parts of their contributions. Citizens’ insurance critics also see the danger that the lack of competition in health insurance companies could lose the German health system of innovative strength.
