Increase in health expenditure in Germany

Health expenditure increased by an average of 5.2 percent

06.04.2011

According to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, health expenditure increased by 5.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. In total, spending on the health sector amounted to 278.3 billion euros.

Over 278 billion for health
Spending on health is steadily rising in Germany. In 2009, a total of 278.3 billion euros were spent on health. According to the statisticians, the expenditure side increased by 13.8 billion (5.2 percent) compared to the previous year. As the Federal Office points out, the increase in expenditure is due „significantly above the growth rates of previous years“. Between 2000 and 2008, spending averaged just 2.7 percentage points per year.

3400 euros per year and German citizens
Each German citizen spent about 3400 Euro per year on health expenses. In 2008, it was still 3220 euros. According to the Federal Office, health expenditure corresponds to about 11.6 percent of the gross domestic product (2008: 10.7 percent).

Reasons for the increase in expenditure
The reasons for this hefty rise are probably due to the economic and financial crisis. „The jump in this indicator, in addition to the above-average growth in health expenditure, is also attributable to the slump in economic output in 2009. For 2010, this indicator is expected to decline again.“

Most expenditures registered the legal health insurance. Here, the expenditure amounted to about 160.9 billion euros (largest expenditure carrier with almost 58 percent). The majority of the costs were incurred by outpatient health care facilities such as home and specialist practices, pharmacies and outpatient care. Here the expenditures amounted to approximately approximately 139 billion euro. The Federal Office recorded an increase in expenditure of 4.9 percent.

A major cost factor is the increase in fees in recent years for physicians in private practice as well as improvements in medical performance. Spending on clinics, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes increased by € 5.8 billion to € 100.2 billion in 2009. This was mainly due to the reform of hospital financing. For example, this new regulation obliges the health insurance funds to participate in the pay increases of the employees and in the programs for improving the working conditions of the staff.

Higher expenditure also with the private health insurance
Expenditure increases were also observed in the area of ​​private health insurance. The PKV (plus 4.3 percent) provided around 26 billion euros for their members' health expenses. The results of the Federal Statistical Office follow the concept of „System of Health Accounts“, which are produced by the OECD, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) for the purposes of international comparison.

Rise in 2010 a bit milder
The statistical data are always collected with a time lag. Therefore, only the data from the year 2009 are now available. Health economists assume that there will be a significant increase in spending in 2010 as well. However, this will be slightly lower than in the same period last year. In 2010, the economic crisis was largely overcome. (Sb)

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