GKV Massive increase in additional contributions expected at the funds

Significant increase in additional contributions expected
The contributions in the statutory health insurance (SHI) will increase significantly in the coming years, according to the GKV-Spitzenverband. Many health insurance companies are only by higher additional contributions to be able to absorb the financial burden of the planned health care reforms and the ongoing structural deficit in spending and revenue, the CEO of the GKV umbrella association, Doris Pfeiffer, cited by the news agency "dpa".

According to the GKV-Spitzenverband, a significant increase in premiums for statutory health insurance (SHI) is to be expected in the coming years. Experts expect the additional contribution to increase by an average of 1.4 to 1.8 percent by 2019. For the current year is still assumed at 0.9 percent. In the coming year, however, the GKV-Spitzenverband is already expecting an increase to 1.1 to 1.2 percent. With the projected increases, the total contribution rate in statutory health insurance would rise from the current level of 15.5 percent to a maximum of 16.4 percent by 2019.

By 2019, contributions to statutory health insurance will increase significantly. (Image: Zerbor / fotolia.com)

Employees have to pay rising contributions alone
The contribution rate in statutory health insurance consists of a fixed component of 14.6 percent, which is payable to 7.3 percent of employers and employees, as well as the so-called supplementary contribution, which the employees pay on their own. In this way, employees have been exempted from any required contribution increases by law and additional funds have to be raised by the employees. For this the instrument of the additional contribution was created, which the health insurance companies can raise according to financial need. Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe (CDU) had frozen the employer contribution to the contributions with the argument that no jobs should be endangered. However, the burden on employees will rise significantly more in the coming years than would have been the case if employers were involved.

So far only moderate additional contributions
According to the GKV-Spitzenverband, 61 percent of GKV members currently pay an additional contribution of 0.9 percent, as forecast for 2015, and around 27 percent pay an additional contribution of 0.8 percent. An exodus to cheaper health insurance is so far hardly detectable in these insured, probably because it is primarily to members of large health insurance companies. So far, however, the additional contribution was relatively moderate, not least because the health insurance funds still had sufficient financial reserves. With a clear increase in the additional contribution to individual funds, however, the willingness to change among the insured persons concerned will presumably increase significantly.

Declining liquidity reserves in the health fund
The anticipated increase in the additional contribution is hardly avoidable in view of the declining GKV assets. Thus, the health fund's liquidity reserves between 2013 and 2015 will fall from 13.6 billion to an estimated 10.1 billion euros. With the resources and reserves of the funds is expected in this period, a decrease of 16.4 billion to an estimated 14.2 billion euros, reports the "dpa", citing the GKV-Spitzenverband. Although the health insurances are basically willing to reduce these high assets, but the financial position of individual funds can turn out very differently, Doris Pfeiffer is quoted by the "dpa". Therefore, further mergers in the currently 124 health insurance companies are expected.

Unilateral burden of health insurance?
In particular, additional burdens on health insurance funds such as the hospital reform, the e-Health Act or the Prevention Act are assessed by the GKV-Spitzenverband in view of the existing deficit between revenue and expenditure of about 2.3 billion euros in the health insurance (end of 2014) extremely critical , The Association estimates the expected additional expenditure by the legislative initiatives at 3.4 billion euros by 2019. Above all, the bill on the Prevention Act would only financially burden health and long-term care insurance, whereas federal, state and local governments do not have to contribute financially to this overall social task the "dpa" the criticism of the chairman of the board of the GKV-Spitzenverbandes, Christian Zahn. In recent years, the SHI share of the costs for prevention and health promotion has already increased the most and currently bear the SHI 45 percent of the costs incurred here (10.9 billion euros). From the public budgets of federal, state and municipalities, however, only 19 percent would be financed and the employer's share was only nine percent. Although the draft of the Prevention Act is basically going in the right direction, here is a one-sided burden on the health insurance companies. (Fp)