Health insurance More surplus than expected

Surprisingly: statutory health insurance last year with surplus.

(14.07.2010) The financial situation of the statutory health insurance (SHI) seems to be better than previously suspected by experts. According to information from the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" there are new calculations by the Ministry of Health. Thus the health insurance companies had made a rich surplus of approximately 1.4 billion euro in the last year 2009. So far, the Federal Ministry of Health has always assumed that it is about 300 million less. The FAZ further reports that the new figures are the final results of the statutory health insurance funds. The newspaper relied on these results.

The most surplus produced the general local health insurance funds with about 916 million euros. For many health insurance companies, the extra contributions levied may have led to households being rehabilitated. The profit generated now enables health insurance companies to build up more reserves. Nevertheless, further savings in the health system will take place. (Sb)

Picture: Andreas Morlok