The bell tolls for German health minister
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
There are those in this world who are clearly masters of their own destiny and those who are oracles of their own doom. German health minister Philip Rösler apparently has a foot in both camps. When he was catapulted into his post ahead of some of his Liberal Party (FDP) colleagues in October 2009, Dr Rösler was aware that Germany stood on the brink of a comprehensive health reform that was aimed at easing the crippling €10 billion deficit of the statutory health insurance system. Daunting as the task may have seemed at the time, Dr Rösler felt he was up to it. He may now be regretting his overenthusiasm.