AOK Plus declares merger

The AOK Plus (comprising AOK Sachsen and Thürungen has canceled the planned merger with the AOK Hessen.) The AOK Plus executives have declared that the talks held since the beginning of the year have ended.Thus, the AOK Plus remains limited to the federal states of Saxony and Thuringia. A merger has burst.

24/11/2010

The planned merger has burst: The AOK Plus indicates as justification that the framework conditions have changed significantly in recent months. As a result, the target was not reached, a merger „contemporary“ perform. Further information would not give the health insurance for this purpose.

As a result of the planned merger, the fourth-largest public health insurance fund with a total of 4.2 million insured persons would have been created. Already in the beginning of November, the negotiations of the coffers had stalled. At that time, the chairman of the board of the AOK plus, Viktor Bernecke, told a newspaper: "There are changed financial conditions that make development more difficult." The changed conditions, which are not explained in detail, now seem to have stopped the merger negotiations as well. One assumption, however, is that, for example, the takeover of the pension burden of the employees of the AOK Hessen were the subject of debate. The cashier employees were then put the civil servant status almost equal. These are amounts that „beat into the office“, so Bernecker a few weeks ago.

Already a year ago, the merger of the two funds was planned. In the middle of this year, the board members of AOK Hessen and AOK plus Sachsen-Thüringen decided to merge the two large AOK funds at a top meeting. The merger should be completed by 1 January 2011. The number of board members should be preserved and also a new name was already fixed: "AOK plus - The health insurance". The proposed merger should also avoid additional contributions. Anyway, both funds had this explained a few months ago. In addition, the merger would have made it easier to respond to specific economic situations. But now came out in mid-November because of "changed financial conditions“. Whether the talks are taken up again is not clear. There will not be a merger for the time being. (Sb)

Also read:
Health insurance: merger to AOK Northwest
Merger of AOK to AOK Plus

Picture credits: Ulli Przyklenk