Former national soccer player Eike Immel (63) lives off citizens' money. The family of former film and television star Heinz Hoenig (72) is asking for donations to finance his life-saving operations. Both cases have one thing in common: the State does not force the self-employed to prepare for bad times.
This leads to grotesque consequences. During his heyday as a Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper, Immel earned a lot of money. “I lived like God in France,” he recently told the television channel “Sat 1.”
But during his retirement from football, when he was no longer earning anything, Immel continued to spend the money generously, until he had nothing left. Immel: “I've done things that any normal person would say couldn't be true.”
If someone does not have enough money to live, the State intervenes immediately
But it was true. Today the former national goalkeeper has to settle for 1,138 euros of citizen money. The advantage of it: the welfare state is to a certain blind spot.
If someone does not have enough money to live, the State intervenes immediately. It doesn't matter if someone has always been poor or has squandered millions throughout their life: if in doubt, the State pays, and that is until the end of their life.
However, when it comes to health insurance, things are different. Anyone who is self-employed and has not taken out private health insurance or has canceled it because the contributions were too expensive is, like Hoenig now, poor in the true sense of the word.
Hoenig's wife Annika has been trying for years to find a way to get him back into insurance. The problem: People over 55, if they were previously privately insured, have practically no chance of having compulsory health insurance again.
After the operations comes the bill: 500,000 euros for Hoenig
That doesn't mean Hoenig won't get surgery now because he doesn't have money. Intensivist doctor Professor Uwe Janssens (Eschweiler Hospital) said in the newspaper “Bild”: “In Germany we have the great advantage over many other countries that everyone who comes to our hospital receives professional treatment. It doesn't matter who comes there. This also applies to seriously ill homeless people.”
However, after the operations comes the bill, which for Hoenig amounts to more than 500,000 euros. If no health insurance covers the costs, the patient is left with a mountain of debt, unless the social welfare office takes over. But in Hoenig they are already very high.
If Hoenig really didn't have money, the social welfare office would intervene instead. But he apparently wants to be treated as a private patient, which, of course, is much more expensive.
Without a doubt, Hoenig not only made a lot of money
No doubt, like so many stars, Hoenig not only made a lot of money from his more than 180 films, but he also spent a lot more. His wife said: “He made a lot of money and he could have taken precautions, yes.” But that's exactly what he doesn't have.
Immel and Hoenig are not isolated cases. Many self-employed people do not think about precautions and prefer to live large. Until the rude awakening comes.
Things are different for employees. Anyone who receives wages or salaries must pay social security contributions: contributions to pension insurance, unemployment insurance, sickness insurance and nursing care insurance. This means you are protected.
The situation is completely different for the self-employed. Whether a lawyer or a sales representative, an actor or an athlete, a businessman or a writer: those who are self-employed are not obliged by the State to take any precautions.
There is no logic in this regard, since the State acts differently when it comes to drivers. Everyone who owns a car must take out civil liability insurance.
Citizens with average income must feel cheated
This ensures that any damage caused by it is financially compensated. Otherwise, accident victims will be left empty-handed if the person responsible does not have enough money.
Middle-income citizens who have paid their taxes and social security contributions for decades must feel cheated. Unlike Immel, they have never lived “like God in France,” but now they have to help finance the upkeep of poor stars.
Things are a little different with health insurance. The state does not deliberately allow someone like Hoenig to suddenly remember statutory health insurance in old age.
In principle, health insurance companies work like this: Most policyholders suffer losses at a young age because they almost never get sick. But they don't have to worry in old age, when healthcare costs rise significantly.
Hoenig and his wife would like to have the best of all worlds
Hoenig and his wife would like to have the best of all worlds: paying nothing when they are young and taking a “loss” when they get older, at the expense of the general public.
Ultimately, self-employed workers who previously had good incomes and depend on the welfare state in their old age are taken advantage of. They have not contributed anything to the social security funds, but they still want to be covered by them.
This reveals a weakness in the welfare state. Self-employed people who live carelessly in an economically rich situation can count on the state to help them if necessary, through citizen benefits or the social welfare office. The “normal” employee feels cheated.
Basically, like drivers, we needed compulsory sickness insurance and a retirement provision. Why shouldn't the self-employed have to prove that they are insured, either voluntarily through state pension and health insurance or through private providers with comparable services?
The welfare state is based on the principle of solidarity: the healthy also pay for the sick, the young for the old.
In reality, however, the state rewards former “big donors” with citizens' money or, if necessary, with expenses covered in the event of a medical emergency. This is extremely anti-social – towards all honest taxpayers and taxpayers.