(de-news.net) – The proposal advanced by the CDU-Wirtschaftsrat to shift the costs of dental treatment onto individuals insured under the statutory health system has been firmly rejected by the Federal Government. A spokesperson in Berlin indicated that no such measures were under consideration at present. Although civic and economic organizations were entitled to submit reform proposals as part of the public debate, the government emphasized that its policy orientation was guided instead by comprehensive reform frameworks, particularly those elaborated by the Social State Commission.
This position was reinforced by Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (SDU), who categorically ruled out the removal of dental care from the mandatory health insurance benefits catalog. She stressed that excluding dental treatment would represent a departure from the foundational principles of the solidarity-based health system and would be incompatible with the stated objective of strengthening preventive health care.
Criticism of the initiative had already emerged across the political spectrum, including from within the Union itself. Gordon Schnieder, the CDU’s leading candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, described calls to abolish publicly financed dental services as unrealistic. He warned that the debate risked creating widespread uncertainty among citizens about whether routine dental checkups would become a private financial responsibility, thereby alienating significant segments of the population and undermining public confidence.
SPD and Greens reject cuts as socially divisive
The controversial proposal formed part of a broader reform package presented by the CDU-Wirtschaftsrat over the weekend. In an effort to prevent further increases in social security contributions, the organization called for the abolition of the mother’s pension, early retirement at the age of 63, and the basic pension. Within this wider set of recommendations, it also advocated removing dental treatments from the range of services covered by statutory health insurers.
Opposition to this stance continued within the SPD faction in the Bundestag. Social policy spokeswoman Annika Klose assessed the proposal as an ineffective attempt to reduce employers’ financial participation in health insurance funding. She further pointed out that patients already bear substantial out-of-pocket expenses in the area of dental care, arguing that additional exclusions would exacerbate existing financial pressures rather than address underlying structural problems.
Resistance was also voiced by Andreas Audretsch, deputy parliamentary leader of the Greens, who contended that removing dental visits from insurance coverage would effectively signal socioeconomic differences, deepening inequality and weakening social cohesion instead of contributing to sustainable, long-term reform.
