DAK First Health Insurance calls for additional contribution

The third largest statutory health insurance DAK requires already in February additional insured contributions
More health insurance companies will follow

The German employee health insurance (DAK) is the first health insurance for statutory compulsory insured, which will demand additional contributions from your insured as early as February 2010. The additional costs will be around 100 euros per year. But the DAK will not be the only health insurance company that will increase its contributions, many more funds will follow, in the next few months.

Around 10 million insured people will have to supplement their health insurance plans later this quarter. The insured must be informed by law no later than one month before the due date of the additional contribution of their health insurance. The DAK is now the beginning and will demand additional contributions from the insured already next month. The majority of the insured will be affected this year. Health experts assume that around 51 million health insured will have to make additional contributions later this year.

DAK chairman Herbert Rebscher announced today: "I will recommend to my board of directors to take eight euros from February". About six million DAK insured are affected. The additional contribution should be raised by all insured persons.

Also the KKH alliance, likewise a substitute cash register and carrier of the legal health insurance after the fifth social code wants to raise new additional contributions in the first half of the yearly. Many health insurance companies will probably follow. Overall, most statutory health insurance will probably require additional contributions from their members.

The reason for these additional contributions is the large deficit this year of health insurance companies. The deficit in the statutory health insurance is estimated at 7.8 billion euros for 2010. Due to the underfunding of the health fund most health insurance companies would require additional contributions from their insured. The contributions could not be avoided according to health insurance this year.

Bring the future even more increases?
If it goes by the will of the Federal Minister of Health, Phillip Rösler (FDP), the rebate contracts should be abolished. Through them, the cash registers currently save a few million euros. Furthermore, the employer's share of the statutory health insurance to be frozen at 14 percent and the capitation fee will be introduced.

All measures that financially burden the insured and health insurance funds. Measures such as the possible indirect dismissal of Peter Sawicki, the head of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in the Health Care System (IQWiG), who works as a pharmacist and works strictly according to scientific criteria, could result in additional billions for the funds. However, Rösler said in an interview today that he wanted to strengthen the IQWIG, as the named Rösler not. It can be assumed, however, that a phasing out of the Sawicki contract will be reconsidered. (sb, 25.01.2010)

additional Information

Patient representative without conflict of interest?
Sawicki: Come billions in costs for insured?
Practice fee departure: Five euros per doctor visit?
IQWiG: Is Peter Sawicki too critical?