Every third Berliner is mentally ill

Examination of Barmer GEK: In Berlin and Brandenburg, many more people suffer from mental health problems than the national average

10/10/2014

About every third employee in Berlin and Brandenburg is affected by a mental illness. This emerges from a study of the health insurance Barmer GEK based on data from the year 2012. According to the health insurance fund, mental illness is increasingly becoming a financial burden, since those affected are often on sick leave for a long time and the health insurance companies are required to pay sickness benefits in addition to the treatment costs if the employer's salary payment ends after six weeks.

Number of sick leave due to mental illness is significantly increased in Berlin and Brandenburg
In Berlin, more than 34 percent and in Brandenburg just under 29 percent of employed persons were affected by a mental illness in 2012. The number of sick leave due to depression and other mental illnesses in Berlin was also much higher than the national average: 7.4 percent of those insured with Barmer were on sick leave, and almost one in every hundred was hospitalized at a clinic. In Brandenburg, 7.2 percent of those insured were unable to work because of mental health problems. Nationwide, the rate was six percent.

Like the online edition of the „Tagesspiegel“ reported the Berlin Barmer boss Claudia Korf the high number of those affected by mental health problems as a massive financial burden on the health insurance. „Inactivity due to mental illness often lasts significantly longer than other diseases. On average, affected workers lose 45 days a year as a result of this diagnosis. It is therefore in the interests of companies to keep an eye on the mental health of their employees, "confirms Andrea Jakob-Pannier, a psychologist at Barmer GEK, in a statement from the health insurer: The health insurances are not only obliged to pay the patients' treatment costs but also to pay sickness benefit if the employer's wages continue after six weeks.

Barmer GEK sees a need for action, especially in companies. Thus, executives should recognize behavioral problems of their employees as early as possible. It helps an open and appreciative communication. „Chefs need to keep an eye on deadlines and workloads to keep their employees' mental health out of balance, "said Jakob-Pannier in the announcement.

There are many psychologists in Berlin
The Techniker health insurance (TK) came in these days to a similar result. According to this, almost every fifth day of absence in Berlin is due to a mental illness. „In Berlin, we have always recorded significantly longer absenteeism due to mental illness than the national average“, told the Berlin TK boss Susanne Hertzer to the newspaper. AOK and DAK found a similar trend.

Why is it in Berlin just so many people with mental suffering, explains Korf in a conversation with the newspaper on the basis of a nationwide maldeeployment. Because mental illnesses would be diagnosed there, where also many psychologists settled down. They gladly opened their practices in the city-states and in the richer southern Germany. „Where more doctors sit, more is diagnosed, which means more is being treated“, summarizes Korf. (Ag)