BKK-Verband has to pay for City BKK

City BKK must reimburse additional contributions

29/06/2011

The federal association of the company health insurance companies must intervene for the financial problems of the closing City BKK. According to the judgment of the Social Court in Berlin, the additional contributions already paid have to be reimbursed by the health insurance. In hindsight, another 20 million euros of debt have come together. Because the insured the cash are entitled to repayment.

15 Euro additional contribution
The additional contribution of the City BKK proves in retrospect as a true curse. At the beginning of the year City BKK had raised the original additional contribution of eight to a whopping 15 euros. In the cover letter to the insured, the special right of termination was only indicated in the fine print. Even older insured persons could barely know that they could have avoided the additional contribution by switching to another health insurance company. This argument was also crucial for the argumentation in court. Now the insolvent health insurance threatens again a debt mountain of approximately 20 million euro. And because the health insurance fund can no longer pay for this itself, in all probability the Association of Health Insurance Funds (BKK) has to step in. This applies at least when the Landessozialgericht Berlin-Brandenburg confirms the repayment claim. In that case, all former members of the City BKK would be entitled to the additional contributions already made.

Meanwhile, the CEO of AOK Hamburg, Wilfried Jacob, has welcomed the court decision. From the point of view of consumers, the verdict is also to be welcomed, Jacob told the magazine „FOCUS“. The Association of statutory health insurance GKV announced that the verdict will be judicially examined. Even the main association could incur costs in an emergency, even if the BKK federation fails.

City BKK letter to insured persons was unlawful
The Federal Court of Audit has ordered the final closure of the financially severely damaged City BKK. The cash register will be closed on the first of July 2011. At the beginning of the year, the Kassenspitze had tried to compensate for the negative business with an additional contribution. By letter, the insured were asked to pay a monthly additional contribution. In the cover letter, the insured were made aware that from now on the additional obolus to the regular contributions is payable. Only in small letters attention was drawn to the special right of termination. Insured could have escaped the additional contribution, if they had changed the cash register. Such a practice was considered unlawful by the court. The insured must be able to clearly understand what alternatives exist legally. Thus, the Social Court declared all additional contributions already made as unlawful. The insured persons are thus entitled to the additional contributions paid.

Also violate the rules of the Federal Insurance Office
Already the German employees health insurance had committed same offense and informed the members in the announcement letter only insufficiently in the small print. The DAK then had to follow-up and published in its member magazine and on the website in detail the conditions of the special right of termination. Based on these experiences, the Federal Insurance Office instructed the funds to submit future additional contributions to the Authority. According to information from the treasurer, the City BKK had not submitted the requested letter and thus broke another rule. (Sb)

Read about City BKK:
City BKK has to repay additional contributions
City BKK insured still looking
City BKK members can not find a new health insurance
Wimmelt health insurance HEK seniors?
Members of City BKK perplexed and shocked
City BKK: collapse by additional contribution
Health Insurance City BKK is closed
Imminent bankruptcy of City BKK
City-BKK saved from insolvency?
Statutory health insurance funds in need
Health insurance City BKK & GBK threatened by bankruptcy
City BKK and GBK rescued from bankruptcy
Health insurance GBK now broke?

Picture: HHS