Bahr wants to curtail elective rates of the health insurance companies

Electoral tariffs of the statutory health insurance funds are to be abolished in practice

11/03/2013

The golden age of private health insurance seems to be over. Many insured people no longer believe the promises of the industry. Because those who are old and ill have to pay excessively, while young and newly insured people are blessed with low contributions. To help the ailing private funds under the arms, the FDP Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr wants to curtail the electoral rate offer of the statutory health insurance. Particularly well-earners are to be animated with the change of law to a change in the private health insurance. The opposition, however, denounces the bill as „Clientele policy in favor of private health insurance“.

The business endeavors of the statutory health insurance funds should, according to the will of the Minister of Health Daniel Bahr, according to a report of the „Berlin newspaper“ be clearly cropped. Among other things, it is planned to severely restrict the offer of optional tariffs. The coffers are to be increasingly difficult to submit their tariff offers their insured, as the newspaper reported in its issue today, citing internal circles.

Since 2007, statutory health insurance companies have been able to offer their customers various health services with different optional rates. According to information from the health insurance funds, these tariffs are used by around nine million health insurance patients. These tariffs are in part similar to the offer of private insurers.

Good earners are to switch to the private funds
The target group of the optional tariffs are insured persons who have a very good income. With these tariffs they should be prevented from switching from the GKV to the private health insurance. Therefore, these election tariffs have long been a thorn in the side of the insurance companies, which is why the PKV has been trying for a long time to persuade the federal government to make changes to the law. „The electoral rates should be abolished“, is the clear demand of private health insurance.

But the Federal Ministry of Health does not want to ban the electoral tariffs completely. Rather, these are to be very expensive by changing the law for the coffers that it will no longer be worthwhile to offer them in the future. „The consequence would be that the health insurance companies would stop the electoral tariffs“, says Thomas Meyer, insurance expert from Hannover. Then, in the opinion of Meyers, private health insurance would go on the offensive and strongly promote electoral tariffs. The main goal is then, „not only to offer the additional tariffs, but to attract new customers in the private health insurance, which have a good income“.

The supplementary insurance of private health insurance is booming
The number of supplementary insurances in private health insurance increased in 2011 by around 500,000 new insurances to 22.5 million. There was a particularly strong growth as in the years before with the supplementary care insurance. Here, the number increased by 10.6 percent to 1.88 million. In the last 5 years, the number of private supplementary insurances has increased by four million or around one fifth. By mid-2012, private health insurance had posted an increase in supplementary tariffs of 86,300. „The introduction of so-called unisex tariffs has somewhat dampened business expectations in the industry“, as the association explained. Many customers are waiting for the development of tariffs. Still, the numbers show that the industry is growing and does not really need any new laws to keep growing.

Opposition to the bill
The opposition strongly criticized the plans of the Ministry of Health. „The election tariffs of the cash registers are to be dried out by the back door“, said the SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach the newspaper in Berlin. Federal Health Minister Bahr commit „clearly clientele policy for private health insurance“, so the politician and mediator.

Halting effects in the financing of the election tariffs should be prohibited
Minister Bahr wants to ban by law that „so-called holding effects in the financing of the electoral tariffs“. In fact, funds can calculate contributions from insured persons who were prevented from changing to private health insurance. Up to 90 percent of the cost of a tariff can be calculated according to the newspaper on this effect. The bill now stipulates that these tariffs will be changed again by the end of 2014. From the Ministry was heard that „a European law ban on cross-subsidies is responsible for this“ is.

The health insurance already ranting against Bahr plans. „If the holding effect is not taken into account, we will lose high-earning members to private insurance“ predicts the chairman of the board Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), Jens Baas. The optional tariffs would make the offer of the legal health insurance much more attractive. It is a means to keep high earners in the system of solidarity. (Sb)

Also read:
Emergency tariff helps only the PKV
Health insurance: Non-payers cause losses
Private patients flee to the health insurance

Picture: Gerd Altmann, Pixilio