Health insurance against unit contribution

Health insurance companies demand contribution autonomy in the statutory health insurance

11/11/2011

The unit contribution to the statutory health insurance is one of the reasons for the massive financial difficulties of some health insurance companies and for the insolvency of the City BKK and the BKK for health professionals in the view of the Central Association of statutory health insurance.

The bankruptcy of the City BKK and the BKK for health professions should also be a reason for the policy to revise the system of unitary contributions and additional contributions to the statutory health insurance, said the CEO of the Association of statutory health insurance, Doris Pfeiffer. In the name of health insurance Pfeiffer demanded from the federal government the abolition of the unitary contributions and a reintroduction of more autonomy in the contribution assessment.

Small additional contribution already causes significant membership losses
In the view of the chairmen of the umbrella association of statutory health insurance, the uniform and additional contributions for the City BKK and the BKK for health professions introduced with the health fund acted like a vicious circle, which intensified the financial difficulties of the health insurance companies far enough that in the end only the way remains remained in the bankruptcy. Doris Pfeiffer therefore demanded that the Federal Government abandon the system of single and additional contributions. The policy should give the health insurance necessarily again more autonomy in the contribution assessment. Pfeiffer explained to the „Handelsblatt“, that the statutory health insurance urgently „again more contribution autonomy, so the possibility of the price of benefits and the contribution rate, set yourself“ need. The central association of the legal health insurance companies have „Already at the introduction of the fund warned against the cashes to reduce the autonomy of contributions“, emphasized Pfeiffer and added: „We now see that even a small additional contribution leads to much higher membership losses than previously much larger contribution rate differences.“

System of unit and additional contribution for health insurance companies a vicious circle
According to the board chairmen of the umbrella association of statutory health insurance, the unit contribution and the additional contributions are a significant threat to numerous health insurance funds, as they quickly lead to a kind of vicious circle, at the end of which - like the City BKK and the BKK for health professionals - the bankruptcy of the affected Health insurance stands. Pfeiffer describes the process that covers health insurance companies as follows. Health insurances that do not benefit from the allocations from the health fund have to make an additional contribution to avoid possible deficits. However, the additional contribution results in veritable waves of change, with primarily young, healthy members changing insurance. According to Pfeiffer, disproportionately many older, ill insured persons who cost more than their contributions pay income remain. As a result, the affected health insurance company is again in financial difficulties due to the deterioration in the membership structure and must further increase the additional contribution. This in turn triggers additional changes of insurance, with the loss of members and the administrative apparatus of health insurance no longer meets the required measure and disproportionately high costs. The situation is getting worse and worse „In the end, the cash register can not save itself from its own resources“, explained Pfeiffer. Another side effect of the system of health funds and additional contributions is, according to the expert, that the health insurance is no longer the best „Price-performance ratio“ compete, but only for the cheapest supply.

Less and less health insurance companies
Industry insiders had already warned immediately after the introduction of the health fund, that this will result in the acquisition or closure of many statutory health insurance. A shrinking of the number of statutory health insurance funds from just under 200 to only about 50 health insurance at the end of the process was forecasted. A look at the insurance landscape makes it clear that numerous factors in the predicted development have already become facts. In the past two years, there have been as many cash mergers in Germany as never before and this year the first closures followed with the City BKK and the BKK für Heilberufe. If the policy still wants to stop development, the proposal of the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance to reintroduce autonomy of contributions seems to be the only way, and it is not clear whether it will actually prevent further bankruptcies in the future. (Fp)

Picture: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio