Health insurance companies issue a billion debts

Statutory health insurance companies have issued over € 1 billion in debt to insured persons

09/24/2014

Tens of thousands of insured people have benefited from the debt cancellation by the statutory health insurance (SHI). In total, the legally insured debt in the amount of 1.1 billion euros were enacted, with 232 million euros on unpaid contributions and 909 million euros attributable to Säumniszuschläge, reports the „Rheinische Post“ (RP), citing a list of the Federal Ministry of Health, which will be discussed today in the Health Committee of the Bundestag.

After more and more insured had accumulated substantial debts, last year the „Law on the elimination of social overburdening of contribution debts in health insurance“ adopted. More than two billion euros of debt had accrued to the legally insured to date. 55,000 insured have now benefited from the possibility of debt relief, reports the „RP“.

Default surcharge for many insured priceless
The reason for the massive debts was not only outstanding contributions, but above all the late payment surcharges, which are required by the statutory health insurance since the introduction of compulsory insurance in 2007, if insured persons were not insured for a long time and then wanted to return to SHI. The late payment was loud „RP“ at five percent a month. Numbers had the late payment all non-insured, the only in 2009 or 2010 in the statutory health insurance returned. With the (re) entry into the GKV, many of them had to deal with a debt of several thousand euros. For many insured are the „Excessive usury interest of up to 60 percent“priceless, she quotes „RP“ the health expert of the CDU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn.

Many insured persons benefit from debt relief
Politicians therefore responded last year with a change in the law which, among other things, abolished additional payments of premiums without insurance cover. Also, the late payment surcharge was reduced to one percent per month. Tens of thousands have since apparently benefited from the new regulation. „The figures show that we have enabled many thousands of people to return to health insurance“, quotes the „RP“ the CDU health expert Jens Spahn. The debt relief referred exclusively to the period of retrospective insurance coverage. „A decree on regular contributions, for example for defaulting voluntarily insured self-employed“, was not planned because these insured persons were able to claim benefits despite contributory debts and they were also familiar with the obligation to pay contributions - in contrast to many non-insured persons - the Federal Ministry of Health reported last year when the amendments to the law were announced. (Fp)