DGB Relief of health insurance in Hartz IV

The German Trade Union Federation DGB demands a discharge of the health insurance with Hartz IV.

11/25/2010

DGB board member Annelie Buntenbach said on Thursday in Berlin about the current considerations in the coalition for the cost assumption for the health insurance of Hartz IV-recipients: „The contributions to the health insurance of Hartz IV recipients amounting to 126 euros are arbitrarily set and clearly too low, because they cover neither the average per capita spending of the statutory health insurance nor the amount of the base rate in the private health insurance (PKV) , The statutory health insurance thereby unjustified additional burdens, long-term unemployed PKV customers significant burdens.

The DGB calls on the black-yellow coalition to end this underfunding and proposes that the tax-financed contribution for the health insurance of Hartz IV recipients be tied to the average expenditure on statutory health insurance per insured person. According to the current per capita expenditure of the GKV of 261 euros, the SHI can be relieved by 3.7 billion euros. As a result, the contribution rate for the insured can be reduced by 0.3 percentage points. The GKV members can thus be spared the burden of the planned premium increase (from 7.9 to 8.2 percentage points). The problems of long-term unemployed PKV customers would be significantly reduced. The remaining difference would have to be solved within the PKV system. The DGB warns against solving the problems unilaterally in favor of private health insurance companies. It would be unacceptable if taxpayers had to subsidize the high tariffs of private health insurance and the contributors to statutory health insurance continue to be unnecessarily burdened.“ (dgb, sb)