2024-05-07 00:00:30
Heinz Hoenig’s health appears dramatic. Is the actor still in a coma? Family and friends continue to raise money for surgery. Just: how much?
Actor Heinz Hoenig is in the hospital and needs surgery. The 72-year-old’s situation seems dramatic, as his wife Annika describes it. Hoenig’s entire aorta had to be replaced; the procedure was “life-threatening,” said the 39-year-old in “Bild am Sonntag.” The problem: The “Das Boot” star does not have health insurance – and has to cover the costs of the operation himself. That’s why the family has been collecting money for days.
The appeal for donations has been running for more than 48 hours. “Due to the current critical health condition of Heinz Hoenig, who is in the intensive care unit of a Berlin clinic with an acute heart problem, we would like to ask for help,” says the “Go Fund Me” donation page. That was not always so. Not only has the wording changed – other details have also been adjusted.
It now says: “In order to cover the costs of his upcoming heart surgery, the Hoenig family is dependent on any support, as Heinz has no health insurance.” There had previously been no explanation as to what exactly the money would be used for: you can read details about this here. A number of other questions also remained unanswered, as several pieces of information were circulating in the public about how much money was needed.
At one point, Hoenig’s wife Annika spoke of 90,000 euros, then management said a “higher six-figure sum” was needed. Since Friday, three different donation goals have been defined, as t-online was able to document. While initially there was talk of 50,000 euros, this changed on Saturday afternoon: Suddenly they wanted to collect 75,000 euros – and from Sunday to Monday that was apparently not enough either.
The donation goal is now 100,000 euros. The desired 75,000 euros were almost reached. By 9 a.m. on Monday morning, 74,500 euros had already been raised. So why these regular adjustments, why does the donation goal keep increasing? So far, t-online has not received an answer when asked: neither from Ralph Siegel, who runs the appeal for donations through his agency, nor from Heinz Hoenig’s management.
“Calls for donations are not regulated by law,” says Burkhard Wilke, managing director of the German Central Institute for Social Issues, which checks donations in this country and awards seals for reputable organizations. “In Germany, anyone can collect donations, private appeals like those made by Ralph Siegel for Mr. Hoenig are also possible,” said Wilke when asked by t-online.
And is it normal that donation goals can double within 48 hours, that instead of 50,000 euros, 100,000 euros are suddenly requested? “We experience this again and again,” says Wilke. “Go Fund Me” is an American platform, where the founders of the donation initiative can make adjustments at any time. In the interests of transparency and trust, he would like it to be clearly communicated why more money is needed. “Unfortunately, this happens far too rarely. The problem is the platforms. There is neither a supervisory function nor a regulation there, only the fundraisers determine the rules.”
Now also a hole in the esophagus?
It remains to be seen what will happen next in Heinz Hoenig’s case. Normally, no person in Germany is refused a patient if their life is in danger simply because of financial difficulties. In such cases, the social welfare office can also cover the hospital and surgical costs.
Is this where the need to raise more money comes from? Not clear. There is nothing about this in the appeal for donations, only an “upcoming heart operation” is mentioned.