Konrad Schily an Urban Vogel: Autonomy or heteronomy in the healthcare system

The statutory health insurance system - from the historical Reich Insurance Code to the present day - has been state-controlled and at the same time organised 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 ten years alone, there have been around 50 major amendment laws, article laws and reforms. The current "draft law to stabilise 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 organisation

The impetus for founding the Samarita Solidarity Community in 1997 came from the founders' desire for an alternative form of cover in the event of illness with a focus on freedom of therapy, responsibility and solidarity.
Police officers and court employees in Münster and Bielefeld had already formed solidarity communities in the 1970s for similar reasons.
The institutions have developed successfully and show that cover in the event of illness can be organised socially and economically in this way.

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 organisation 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 favourable one. In contrast, the planned economy, politically negotiated system leads to a continuous increase in administrative costs, 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 analysed using the example of the Samaria solidarity community.

Guests include Konrad Schily, co-founder of the UW/H and former UW/H president, and Urban Vogel, who is on the board of the Samariter-Solidargemeinschaft.

The event is free of charge.