Germany’s coalition debates care reform as police target alleged money-laundering network

Germany’s Cabinet was due to discuss a draft bill to reform the country’s care system on Wednesday, September 30, amid disagreement between coalition partners over its provisions. The Federal Press Office said the proposals were put forward by Health Minister Carsten Linnemann. The package has exposed divisions between the conservative Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the junior coalition partner, the centre-left Social Democrats.

The Social Democrats oppose cuts to care services. They have called for a cap on personal contributions to care in retirement homes and financial adjustments to make the division between private and statutory nursing-care insurance fairer. The source said both proposals had faced scepticism from Linnemann.

Reform pressure has increased as the ageing population raises the number of people requiring care and drives up costs. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds estimates a shortfall of €4.4 billion this year and €10 billion in 2027. In a separate operation, more than 1,000 police officers raided more than 100 locations in Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria and the Netherlands.

Duisburg police said officers were executing arrest warrants and seeking to confiscate up to €48.6 million in suspected illicit funds. Seventy-one people were under investigation over alleged offences including forming a criminal association, extortion, fraud and commercial money-laundering. Police also cited suspected weapons offences, assault and tax avoidance.

The raids covered several German states and were overseen by prosecutors in Duisburg, with support from North Rhine-Westphalia’s office for combating financial crime.