Statutory health insurance companies double losses

Deficit of the statutory funds doubled

08/30/2014

According to a recent press report, the statutory health insurance funds in Germany more than doubled their deficits in the second quarter. Accordingly, the shortfall is 620 million euros. Additional contributions are therefore expected for the coming year.

Deficit doubled in the second quarter

According to a newspaper report, the statutory health insurance companies in Germany more than doubled their deficits in the second quarter. As the „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ reported on Saturday, the shortfall after 270 million euros in the first quarter now at 620 million euros. Accordingly, the general local health insurance funds and the miners were able to expand their surpluses to almost 290 million euros, but the Ersatzkassen achieved a minus of over 680 million euros and in the operating and guaranty funds, the shortfall amounted to 230 million euros.

„Underfinancing of the health insurance companies“

According to the newspaper, the Ersatzkassenverband said it was „probably that in 2014 it will be a GKV-wide slight underfunding of health insurance companies“ come because the allocations from the health fund were not enough. However, the health insurance companies currently have differently distributed reserves and reserves of around 16 billion euros, with which they could compensate for shortfalls. The statutory health insurance (SHI) is financed mainly by the contributions of employees and employers as well as grants from the federal government to the health fund.

„Deficit was foreseeable“

When a few months ago, the losses of the first three months of the current year were announced, the Federal Government pointed out that the figures of the first quarter are only conditionally meaningful for the whole year. Annelie Buntenbach, board member of the DGB had then criticized the black-red coalition and said: „The deficit was foreseeable, because the legislator has helped with his gifts, for example, for resident physicians, that the expenses increase.“ (Ad)