First live like God in France – and then fall into the pocket of the state. The former national soccer player Eike Immel and the former film and television star Heinz Hoenig have one thing in common: the state does not force the self-employed to prepare for bad times.
The former national soccer player Eike Immel (63) lives on citizen’s 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 goalkeeper for Borussia Dortmund, Immel earned a lot of money. “I lived like God in France,” he recently told the television station “Sat 1”.
But in his football retirement, when he no longer earned anything, Immel continued to spend the money generously – until there was nothing left. Immel: “I’ve done things where every normal person would say it can’t be true.”
But it was true. Today the ex-national goalkeeper has to make do with 1,138 euros in citizen’s money. Its advantage: The welfare state is blind to a certain extent.
If someone doesn’t have enough money to live on, the state steps in immediately. It doesn’t matter whether someone has always been poor or has squandered millions over the course of their life: in case of doubt, the state pays – and that until the end of their life.
When it comes to health insurance, however, 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 for him to get back into insurance. The problem: Anyone over the age of 55 – if they were previously privately insured – has virtually no chance of returning to statutory health insurance.
That doesn’t mean that Hoenig wouldn’t have surgery now because he doesn’t have any money. Intensive care physician Professor Uwe Janssens (Eschweiler Hospital) said in “Bild”: “In Germany we have the big advantage over many other countries that everyone who comes to our hospital is treated professionally. No matter who comes there. This also applies to seriously ill homeless people.”
However: After the operations comes the bill, which for Hoenig is said to be more than 500,000 euros. If no health insurance fund covers the costs, the patient is left with a mountain of debt – unless the social welfare office takes over. But at Hoenig they are already very high.
If Hoenig really has next to no money, the social welfare office would step in for him. But apparently he wants to be treated as a private patient, which is of course much more expensive.
Undoubtedly, like so many stars, Hoenig not only earned a lot of money from his more than 180 films, but also spent a lot more. His wife said: “He used to earn good money and 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 don’t think about precautions and prefer to live large. Until the rude awakening comes.
Things are different for employees. Anyone who receives a wage or salary must pay social security contributions: contributions for pension insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance and nursing care insurance. This means you are protected.
The situation is completely different for the self-employed. Whether it’s a lawyer or a sales representative, an actor or an athlete, an entrepreneur or a writer: anyone who works for their own account is not forced by the state to take any precautions.
There is no logic in this respect, as the state acts differently when it comes to drivers. Anyone who owns a car must take out liability insurance.
This ensures that any damage caused by him is financially compensated. Otherwise, accident victims will be left empty-handed if the person responsible does not have enough money.
Citizens with average incomes who have paid their taxes and social security contributions for decades must feel fooled. Unlike Immel, they have never lived “like God in France”, but now they have to help finance the maintenance of poor stars.
When it comes to health insurance, things are a little different. The state deliberately does not allow someone like Hoenig to suddenly remember the statutory health insurance in old age.
In principle, health insurance companies work like this: At a young age, most insured people make a loss because they are hardly ever sick. But they don’t have to worry in old age, when health care costs increase significantly.
Hoenig and his wife would like to have the best of all worlds: not paying anything in when they are young, only to be left with a “loss” when they get older – at the expense of the general public.
Ultimately, formerly well-earning self-employed people who rely on the welfare state in old age are free riders. They have not paid anything into the social security funds, but still want to be covered by them.
This reveals a weakness in the welfare state. Self-employed people who live carelessly on a large footing can rely on the state to come to their aid if necessary – via citizens’ benefit or the social welfare office. The “normal” contributor feels ripped off.
Basically, like drivers, we needed compulsory insurance against illness and retirement provision. Why shouldn’t self-employed people have to prove that they are insured – voluntarily through the state pension and health insurance or from 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 citizen money or, if necessary, with the costs covered in medical emergencies. This is extremely anti-social – towards all honest contributors and taxpayers.
Surf tip: No health insurance – Why Heinz Hoenig was uninsured – and what 60,000 other uninsured people should learn from it