Health insurance Higher contributions inevitable

The health insurance companies run out of money

The statutory health insurance (GKV), the money goes out. The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) expects a billion deficit by the end of the year. Only the additional contributions would have prevented the GKV already now slipped into the minus, explained the BMG.

07/12/2010

As reported by the Federal Ministry of Health, the financial health insurance situation in the first three quarters of 2010 has deteriorated significantly compared to the previous year. Despite the recovering economy, the health insurance companies were unable to generate a similarly good result as in 2009 - the surplus of the first three quarters has decreased by over one billion euros compared to the previous year. Only by the additional contributions levied a deficit could be avoided, so the Federal Ministry of Health.

The statutory health insurance must pay the deficit from financial reserves
While statutory health insurances were still able to post a surplus of 1.4 billion euros in the first three quarters of 2009, they only amount to 277 million euros in the current year. The Federal Ministry of Health said that the revenues of the health insurance in the third quarter at 131.2 billion euros and the expenditure at 130.9 billion euros. Only by the revenue of around 463 million euros from the collection of additional contributions, which were first collected since the first and second quarter of 2010 by some health insurance companies such as the German Employees Health Insurance (DAK), a deficit in the statutory health insurance was avoided altogether , so the statement of the Federal Ministry of Health.

However, with a view to the whole of 2010, the remaining surplus of 277 million is also at risk, as experience has shown that spending in the fourth quarter is considerably higher than in previous quarters. Thus, according to the Federal Ministry of Health, it can be assumed that at the end of the year numerous SHI slips into negative territory. The foreseeable underfunding in the health fund allocations can not be offset by additional contributions and additional income, the Federal Ministry of Health said. „In this respect, deficits of funds in 2010 often have to be compensated for by remaining financial reserves“, so the opinion of the Ministry. The expected deficit will be according to forecasts of the circle of estimators at just over two billion euros, although the circle of estimators was expected in the summer of a loss of 3.1 billion.

Expenditure of health insurance increased by 3.9 percent
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the expenditures of the statutory health insurance funds have once again increased by 3.9 percent, but the increase in costs has tended to slow down - because in the first half of 2010 the average increase in expenditure had still been 4.2 percent. Thus the expenditure altogether no longer rose so steeply as at the beginning of the year, it was called from the Federal Ministry of Health. The increased costs were offset by an increase in cash receipts of 2.7 percent, which was mainly due to a higher federal subsidy, according to the official statement of the Ministry. For the expenditure increases of the legal health insurance companies are in particular the contract medical outpatient care with a cost increase of 600 million euro (plus 3.7 per cent) and the increased by 1.8 billion euro (4.5 per cent) to altogether 44.18 million euro expenditure in the Range of 2,100 hospitals, according to information from the Federal Ministry of Health.

The cost of medicines also increased by just under a billion (4.2 percent). Drug expenditure was € 24.32 billion in the first three quarters of this year, compared with € 23.42 billion in the same period last year. By contrast, the statutory health insurance funds recorded a slight decrease in expenditure for preventive and rehabilitation measures as well as for prevention and vaccinations. So far, the health fund for the first three quarters of 2010 allocations totaling about 127.7 billion euros were paid to the statutory health insurance, the revenue of the health fund from contributions and federal subsidies would have amounted to 128.5 billion euros, said the Federal Ministry of Health.

Circle of estimators: Necessary additional contribution on average „zero“
In the current figures, the Federal Government sees its recent reform decisions for the health sector (keyword: health care reform) confirmed. Without the initiated „counteraction“ If the GKV had threatened a deficit of up to nine billion euros in the coming year, it said from the Federal Ministry of Health. That decided „balanced package of revenue improvements and spending limits“ help to catch the looming deficit. Both the increase in the general contribution rate of 14.9% to 15.5% as of January 1, 2011, as provided for in the Financing Act, as well as the savings from the Pharmaceutical Restructuring Act, the austerity measures for hospitals, doctors and dentists, and the shortfall at the health insurance funds all contribute to this at, the statutory health insurance to one „more solid financial basis“ according to the opinion of the Federal Ministry of Health.

On the basis of the agreed measures of the health reform, the circle of estimators, which annually determines the financial requirements of the statutory health insurance, calculates in 2011 that the average additional contributions contribute „zero“ lie down. However, this does not exclude that individual health insurance companies still have to raise additional contributions, the circle of evaluators continues. Five statutory health insurance companies have already announced that they will require additional contributions from their insured in 2011. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the one-off federal subsidy of two billion euros to the health fund in 2011, which is funded by tax credits, can flow entirely into the liquidity reserve and thus stand as of 2012 „for the financing of the social compensation in the case of additional contributions“, explained the Federal Ministry of Health. (Fp)

Also read:
AOK boss: problem with medical oversupply
Warning of change in the PKV

Picture credits: Harry Hautumm