Editing Angela Merkel (section)

==== Healthcare reform ====
Reform of the [[Healthcare in Germany|German healthcare system]] was a salient issue during the 2005 election; the previous system had been criticised as inefficient and overly bureaucratic.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 2006 |title=Letter from Berlin: A Sickly Compromise for German Healthcare Reform |language=en |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/letter-from-berlin-a-sickly-compromise-for-german-healthcare-reform-a-425036.html |access-date=6 August 2023 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=6 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806181144/https://www.spiegel.de/international/letter-from-berlin-a-sickly-compromise-for-german-healthcare-reform-a-425036.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After a significant period of negotiations, a deal was passed in 2006. While this agreement was described as having "saved the coalition government", it was also widely criticised as ineffectual. The deal also increased the tax burden on employers and their publicly insured employees.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 October 2006 |title=German Health Reform: Merkel Announces a Deal, Averts a Crisis |language=en |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/german-health-reform-merkel-announces-a-deal-averts-a-crisis-a-440924.html |access-date=6 August 2023 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609001250/https://www.spiegel.de/international/german-health-reform-merkel-announces-a-deal-averts-a-crisis-a-440924.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=German Health Care Reform: Mission Impossible? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-health-care-reform-mission-impossible/a-2117345 |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=dw.com |language=en |archive-date=20 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820183733/https://www.dw.com/en/german-health-care-reform-mission-impossible/a-2117345 |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2006 round of reforms introduced the "health insurance duty", which establishes that individuals must be insured either through the public insurance system or through private insurance firms and accordingly cannot be uninsured.<ref name="www.jstor.org">{{Cite web |title=Personal Responsibility for Health — Developments Under the German Healthcare Reform 2007 on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43ff418d-949c-3e2d-b7fa-d6eb41c8e135 |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=www.jstor.org |language=en |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103022413/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43ff418d-949c-3e2d-b7fa-d6eb41c8e135 |url-status=live}}</ref> The reforms also targeted [[preventive healthcare]] as a priority, particularly with regards to [[Elderly care|eldercare]].<ref name="www.jstor.org" />