There are managers in the German pharmaceutical and health sector who only want one thing: get out of Germany.

At least far away from the German health system.

A group board member has been active in this country for many years, he knows the details better than anyone else, but he has long since had enough.

In the background discussion, the native Swabian doesn't mince his words: Everyone benefits from the system, with the exception of the patients, that's how his Suada can be summed up.

The economist no longer expects much from politics, with which he has always been involved, least of all from Karl Lauterbach.

When it comes to assessing the Federal Minister of Health, terms are used that the faint-hearted would classify as “insult”.

Thiemo Heeg

Editor in Business.

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Lauterbach is currently trying to steer a few of the many billions in healthcare better.

His ministry speaks of a comprehensive structural and financial reform that is currently being tackled.

With it you want to compensate for the 17 billion euro deficit of the statutory health insurance companies (GKV) in the coming year.

From Lauterbach's mouth it sounded well thought out and well planned last Friday: "We make specifications for the pricing of patent-protected medicines, correct the rules for making doctor's appointments and specify the payment of care in the hospitals.

At the same time, statutory health insurance remains first-rate.”

There is no applause in the pharmaceutical industry, frustration prevails, almost everywhere.

On the one hand, the big hit in terms of reform is missing.

Here, too, reference is often made to digitization, which is still progressing too slowly in the healthcare sector.

The head of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, Severin Schwan, refers to a recently published study by the consulting firm McKinsey.

According to her, digital technology such as electronic patient files, online consultation hours or remote patient monitoring opens up annual savings of 42 billion euros for the German healthcare system.

"You can say it's about 10 percent of health care costs," calculates Schwan.

"That seems plausible to me, if you know how things work in the hospitals and how inefficient processes there can be."

"What a mess!"

Instead of raising this potential, the industry complains that politicians are targeting drug manufacturers.

She sees herself as a victim whose business model is not understood.

While hardly anyone looks at the billions in investments in medical development that are often unsuccessful, the billions in profits would be scandalized if successful - this is the general complaint from the industry, which is still struggling with reputation problems.

And in Germany, even the location is at stake.

Roche boss Schwan, who appears to be generally affable in public, sees himself as “in the wrong picture” when the traffic light coalition wants to push through price reductions for medicines.

Because inflation is currently putting a heavy strain on companies, and pills and the like only make up a comparatively small part of statutory health insurance expenditure.