Health Insurance City BKK is closed

For the first time since the health reform, a statutory health insurance will be closed without merger. The company health insurance City BKK will be dissolved on July 1, 2011. Insured must look for a new health insurance until the closing date.

04/05/2011

The statutory health insurance City BKK will be closed on the first of July. Around 170,000 health insurance must now look for a new health insurance. The future of the approximately 400 employees is still unclear. For the approximately 170,000 insured of the company health insurance City BKK the closure means to seek a new health insurance. By the first of July, all health benefits will be maintained. Even begun therapies and examinations can be continued without further ado. If the cash register itself can no longer pay for the costs, the association of the company health insurance funds for insolvent City BKK must intervene.

Federal Insurance Office decides to close
As the Federal Insurance Office officially announced on Wednesday in Bonn, the statutory health insurance City BKK will be closed on 1 July 2011. The decision on the closure had been unavoidable, since the financial difficulties of the troubled cash for months was no longer to accomplish. As the supervisory authority, the Federal Insurance Office has the obligation to act consistently in the interests of the insured in the event of imminent insolvency. This concludes since the introduction of the health fund for the first time a health insurance without prior to a merger to obtain.

Future of employees uncertain
For the approximately 400 cashier employees, closure is very likely to result in job loss. The regional branches in Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart will be closed until full settlement. For employees, closure means finding a new job. It is not yet known whether compensation for the loss of the employment relationship will be made or whether acquisitions into other company funds are planned.

Politics welcomes the closure of City BKK
Politicians welcome the closure of the cash register. "We want the competition between health insurance companies, which also means that unsuccessful funds disappear from the market," said the health expert of the CDU, Jens Spahn to the newspaper „Rheinische Post“. Finally, the closure of the box office „also a sign to all coffers that think they can muddle through somehow“, Spahn continued. Will there be a health insurance on the health insurance market, so „she has to make an effort“. However, it is now important to ensure that the affected insured by the off no disadvantage and they „could switch completely into another fund“.

The threatening insolvency of City BKK took off months ago
In April of this year it became known that the Federal Insurance Office wants to closely examine the balance sheets of the first quarter. Already at this time, an end of City BKK hinted. Despite the collection of additional contributions, the fund could no longer compensate its financial problems. According to the Federal Insurance Office, the reason for the closure was the lack of efficiency of CITY BKK, which is no longer secure in the long run (§ 153 sentence 1 no. 3 SGB V).

CITY BKK had already reported its debt and insolvency in 2010. The health insurance itself, among other things, the insufficient funds of the health fund for the failure responsible. Due to the partially outdated membership structure in the „medical high-price regions Berlin and Hamburg“ the cash register nevertheless received the nationwide average morbidity costs reimbursed. In the course of the last year, the fund created a reorganization concept and above all tried to save costs in the administrative area. In addition, a very high additional contribution of last 15 euros per member of the fund was charged. Ultimately, however, the additional contribution did not lead to the rescue but to further instability of the fund, because in the course of which many insured made use of their right to change. About a quarter of the members also refused to pay the additional contribution. This is also confirmed by the chairman of the Federal Insurance Office, Maximilian Gaßner: „Unfortunately, a restructuring plan submitted by City BKK in the first quarter of 2011 did not bring the hoped-for success, in particular due to the extraordinarily high number of departures“. However, Gaßner objected to the representations that his problems stemmed from the inadequate allocations of the health fund. Rather, the City BKK already before because „far above average performance expenditure“ had great problems and had to be supported by other funds.

Health benefits continue to be paid for insured persons
Until the final closure, all patient benefits will be paid. The many service providers in the health sector, such as physiotherapists, aid suppliers, health clinics, doctors, hospitals and pharmacies need not worry. Even after the closure of a health insurance fund - in contrast to insolvencies in business enterprises - all obligations are fulfilled. „For these liabilities then comes the respective type of cash, in the case of City BKK the system of company health insurance on.“

Members should look for a new fund
The Federal Insurance Office emphasizes that City BKK members do not have to worry about the closure. They now have enough time after the announcement to look for a new and adequate health insurance. No health insurance company can refuse former City BKK insured persons due to their state of health, age or income. Compulsory members can switch to a new fund of their own choice up to two weeks after closing. If this deadline expires, the employer will independently look for a new fund for the employee. The new health insurance protection seamlessly follows the previous one. The member himself and all family members who are not insured are insured with the new health insurance from the first day after the closure. So there is immediately without expectancy or waiting time the entire service catalog of the new box office.

Retirees and Hartz IV recipients
If you are dependent on social assistance or Hartz IV payments, you can also look for a new health insurance company yourself. Anyone who allows the two-week period after closure to pass is automatically registered by the Federal Employment Agency with another fund. This also applies to pensioners, here takes care of the pension insurance. This measure ensures that no supply gaps arise.

Voluntarily insured by law
For self-employed or civil servants who are voluntarily insured by law, slightly different rules apply. You must declare the bill yourself within three months of notification of the closure, otherwise the right to a statutory health insurance expires. Who does not meet the deadline and, for example, does not care for a private health insurance, for which the subordinate compulsory insurance in the statutory health insurance applies. So even in these cases a seamless insurance cover should be guaranteed. However, the person forfeits the right to continue to be voluntarily insured by law.

Even trading avoids annoyance
For all cases, it is best to become self-employed and to compare offers from other health insurances. Since such a closure has been unique since the introduction of the Health Fund, some of the intervention mechanisms might not work properly. It is therefore important, in any case, whether voluntarily or compulsorily insured, to take sufficient care of yourself.

More funds in danger
After unconfirmed reports, other health insurance funds are threatened with closure. The BKK Heilberufe and the Joint Health Insurance Fund Cologne (GBK) have also recently reported financial problems to the supervisory authorities. The health insurance funds are required by law to report an imminent insolvency at an early stage. (Sb)

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