German Health Minister Nina Warken has announced a broad package of austerity measures aimed at closing a projected €15 billion deficit in the country's statutory health insurance system (the public scheme covering around 75 million people). Proposed reforms include raising patient co-payments for medications by 50 percent, restricting the free spousal co-insurance benefit, removing homeopathy and routine skin-cancer screening from covered services, and cutting bonus payments to doctors and hospitals. The measures, which Warken hopes to pass through parliament before the summer recess, are expected to save around €20 billion by 2027 — though insurers remain frustrated that the government has declined to cover the roughly €10 billion annual shortfall caused by inadequate state subsidies for welfare recipients.