Berlin. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has called on politicians to lead by example in upcoming reforms, arguing that "politicians must also do their part in the structural changes ahead," he told Stern magazine.
CDU's Linnemann pushes bold reforms for healthcare and pensions in Germany
For instance, he said he had long believed that lawmakers should provide for their own retirement—either privately or through the statutory pension system. While this would not solve the broader challenges facing the pension system, he called it "an important signal."
Linnemann also proposed concrete measures for healthcare reform, including reducing the number of surgeries and limiting non-emergency visits to emergency rooms. "Far too many people go to the ER not because of an actual emergency, but for minor issues like a cold," he said. "Everyone can see that this isn't sustainable. We need to change it—for everyone."
He added that Germany performs far too many inpatient surgeries. "In other countries, procedures like gallbladder or hernia operations are routinely done on an outpatient basis. Here, they're often done in hospitals because of misaligned incentives. That, too, will have to change—for everyone."
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