City BKK has to repay additional contributions

Insolvente Krankenkasse City BKK must repay additional contributions

27/06/2011

The Insolvente City BKK has to repay the additional contributions levied since 2010, according to the current verdict of the Social Court Berlin-Brandenburg. The verdict of the court seems a bit like the irony of life, because the additional contributions had a not insignificant share in the bankruptcy of City BKK, according to industry experts. Actually raised to eliminate the financial difficulties, the additional contributions triggered numerous changes of members, which in turn further aggravated the problems of the City BKK. Now the City BKK will be closed on 01. July, but the additional contributions must still be repaid, judged the Social Court Berlin-Brandenburg.

According to the current verdict, the now insolvent City BKK has not made its members sufficiently aware of the special termination right when levying the additional contributions. The additional contributions collected since 2010 are thus unlawful and must be repaid, said the Social Court Berlin-Brandenburg. Thus, the City BKK has just before their final closure on 1 July another serious problem, because bankruptcy was the health insurance before. How the millions of claims now to be paid can not be finally resolved - according to the legal situation, the other company health insurance funds are responsible.

Million claims against the insolvent health insurance
According to verdict of the Social Court Berlin-Brandenburg, the City BKK must refund the already paid additional contributions despite insolvency. When introducing or increasing the additional contributions, the members were not sufficiently informed about their special right of termination, the court said. The note in the fine print on the back of the cover letter is not sufficient, so that the additional contributions levied have no effect, the judges declared. With around 130,000 members and an additional contribution of eight euros in 2010, as well as an additional contribution of 15 euros in 2011, millions of claims against bankrupt City BKK are in the room. How these are to be served, is so far however not conclusively clarified. Although according to the current legal situation, the other company health insurance funds are obliged to take over the liabilities of the insolvent City BKK, said City BKK spokesman Torsten Nowak „Focus Online“. But how exactly this repayment should take place, Nowak could not represent. This may result in further work for the former City BKK, since they will have to claim their own contributions in case of doubt. The remaining 35,000 City BKK customers are therefore not only called upon to seek out new insurance as quickly as possible, but they must also seek to recover the unlawfully levied additional contributions. However, appeal against the current verdict is still possible at the Landessozialgericht Berlin-Brandenburg before it becomes lawful.

Orderly transition planned in the interests of the insured
Overall, the details of the further proceedings with the insolvent City BKK have so far revealed some details with which the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) and the Federal Ministry of Health want to ensure a smooth transition. Thus, the insured, who have not yet found a new health insurance until 1 July, then in a „City BKK in liquidation“ who will cover the treatment costs for up to three months in order to settle them later with the new health insurance. For example, the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds hope to avoid possible power losses in the interests of the insured. All City BKK customers who still have no new insurance until July 15 will be distributed to other health insurance companies by their employer, job center or pension insurance to ensure a seamless transition, City BKK spokesman Torsten Nowak said , continue. (Fp)

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Picture: Chris Beck