DAK without additional contribution AOK aggressive

DAK manages the additional contribution: AOK boss attacks the private health insurance

29.03.2012

At the moment, a lot is changing in the statutory health insurance, whereby after the financial difficulties and the first insolvencies in the past year, the current discussion is characterized above all by massive surpluses of the legal health insurance companies.

Thus, the German employee health insurance (DAK) will waive thanks to a considerable surplus of around 350 million euros in Germany from the first April on the previously collected additional contribution. Meanwhile, the board of the AOK Federal Association, Jürgen Graalmann, took the opportunity for a frontal attack on the private health insurers in view of the currently relatively good financial position of the statutory health insurance (GKV). Should the private insurers their „Crisis not under control“ The logical consequence, according to Graalmann, is a uniform insurance market. In private health insurance (PKV) met his comments to massive criticism.

DAK waives the additional contribution in the future
The statutory health insurance companies generated a clear surplus last year, which opens up new room for maneuver. The DAK uses these to waive the additional fee of eight euros per month, which has been levied since February 2010, from the first of April. For the implementation, the DAK explained that for members who have given the insurance authority a direct debit, the payment will automatically be reduced by the previous additional contribution. Insured persons who transfer their contributions by standing order should cancel it by April and then set it up again, according to the DAK. The approximately 760,000 insured DAK should be pleased about the expected relief.

PKV a discontinued model?
In the meantime, private health insurance companies were less pleased, however, in light of the recent head office of the AOK Federal Association. Jürgen Graalman took advantage of the currently good situation of the GKV and the existing difficulties in the private insurers to address the abolition of private health insurance. The situation with the PKV was „obviously threatening“ and „it looks like insurers are not getting this crisis under control“, stressed Graalmann. If this were the case, Graalmann believes that a uniform insurance system and the abolition of private health insurance would be the logical consequence. „If today's PKV business model has failed, there can be no political compensation transactions“, stressed the board of the AOK-Bundesverband. Rescue efforts for the PKV by concessions of the policy are out of place in his opinion here.

Indignation at the private health insurance
In private health insurance, Graalmann's demands met with massive criticism. According to the director of the PKV Association, Volker Leienbach, it is „a gross derailment that the representative of a privileged public-law entity such as the AOK trespasses on a private-sector competitor.“ Leienbach received support from the health policy spokesman of the FDP parliamentary group, Heinz Lanfermann. To put a whole industry as threatened, was dubious and Graalmann should not forget that the AOK would not exist today in its existing form, if the policy had denied her assistance in recent decades, Lanfermann stressed. With all the sympathy, which finds the advance of Graalmann with the critics of the PKV, must be considered at this point also, that at present approximately nine million humans in Germany private health insurance are. To accommodate them in the GKV in a timely manner would be a barely solvable challenge, especially as last year, following the bankruptcy of City BKK, considerable difficulties in housing the insured have already arisen. Only reluctantly were the statutory health insurance companies willing to accept the former City BKK members. (Fp)

Read about:
Health insurance companies can collect additional contributions
PKV refuses homeopathy reimbursement
Additional contribution at the DAK ineffective?
Hartz IV: additional contribution despite social assistance