The statutory health insurance system - from the historical Reich Insurance Code to the present day - has been state-controlled and at the same time organized as a planned economy from the very beginning. This regulatory density is also reflected in the figures: Between 1950 and 2026, well over 200 laws on statutory health insurance (SHI) passed through the Bundestag. In the past 10 years alone, there have been around 50 major amendment laws, article laws and reforms. The current "draft law to stabilize contribution rates" promises stability, but has the opposite effect: contributions are rising while benefits are being cut again. A fundamental reform is being called for, but is not in sight.

The Samarita solidarity community

The impetus for founding the Samarita-Solidargemeinschaft in 1997 came from the founders' desire for an alternative form of cover in the event of illness with a focus on freedom of treatment, responsibility and solidarity.
Back in the 1970s, police officers and court employees in Münster and Bielefeld had formed solidarity communities for similar reasons.
The institutions have developed successfully and show that it is possible to organize social and economic protection in the event of illness.

The idealistic background of the solidarity communities in the healthcare sector is comparable to the idealistic background of the student society for financing the cost contributions for studies in its liberal factual orientation towards mutual support in the event of illness. In both cases, the autonomy of the members should be restricted as little as possible. In one case it is the free organization of studies, in the other case the preservation of autonomy for patients, doctors and therapists.

Here, too, it can be seen that the socially correct institution is also the economically more favorable one. In contrast, the planned economy, politically negotiated system leads to a continuously increasing administrative burden, with decreasing efficiency and further decreasing autonomy for patients, doctors and all other professional groups in the healthcare system.

In the panel discussion, an alternative to statutory and private health insurance will be presented, explained and highlighted using the example of the Samarita solidarity community.

Guest speaker are Konrad Schily, co-founder of the UW/H and former UW/H president as well as Urban Vogel, head of the Samarita-Solidargemeinschaft.

The event is free of charge.