Health insurance New additional contributions 2012?

New health insurance additional contributions already in 2012?

(11.09.2010) According to the federal chairman general local health insurance fund be „on a broad front“ by the statutory health insurance further additional contributions are levied. The financial situation of the health insurance funds is secured in the coming year 2011 by the increase of the health insurance premiums.

From January 2011, the contributions of the statutory health insurance will be increased from 14.9 to 15.5 percent. This increase is unavoidable in the opinion of the Federal Chairman of the AOK, Herbert Reichelt. Already at the beginning of the year, the head of the AOK had predicted a deficit in the health fund of 11 billion euros. According to Reichelt, nothing has changed in spite of the good economic situation. Because the improved economy comes only very delayed with the health insurance companies. "We assume that the statutory health insurance initially for the year 2011, a sufficient financing without benefit cuts receives," said the AOK boss Reichelt. But for 2012, further healthcare costs could be incurred for health care patients. We expect further additional contributions „on a broad front“ announced Reichelt. Because deficits are expected for the coming years. In what amount are these, the AOK boss could not yet quantify. For that reason, the chief treasurer called on politics to tackle structural reforms. So it is urgently necessary for the health insurance companies to get more bargaining rights in order to conclude more cost-effective contracts with the drug manufacturers, medical associations and hospitals.

The health insurance companies are still under enormous financial pressure. This pressure is ultimately also supported by various reform proposals by the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP). A number of health care reform measures are expected to favor private health insurance. So it is planned to lower the ceiling for high earners, so that a change in the PKV can go faster. Furthermore, Rösler wants to achieve that the additional rates are set by the statutory health insurance. Offers such as chief physician treatment, foreign health insurance, single occupancy or naturopathy procedures should in future only be offered by the private. Thus, the statutory health insurance funds escape important revenue, which in turn is passed on to the health insurance patients.

But the future additional costs should not be taken by further contribution increases, but by further and very probably higher additional contributions. After all, the federal government does not want to burden employers any further. For contribution increases, employers must contribute to at least half. With the additional contributions the insured ones themselves remain sitting on the costs. Especially in the course of health care reform, the way for higher additional contributions is given free. Because from 2011, the health insurance funds can determine the amount of additional contributions themselves.

On the other hand, the health insurance companies try to prevent further additional contributions. Because the experience shows that the insured run the health insurance in droves away, if a fund raises additional contributions. For this reason, many health insurance funds are seeking to join forces with other health insurers to better absorb financial bottlenecks. At the AOK alone, it is planned to carry out at least four more mergers in 2011. The deputy AOK chairman Jürgen Graalmann therefore expects that the number of health insurance funds in the coming years will reduce from the current 163 to around 50 health insurance companies. That is certainly wanted by the politicians, because this can increase the efficiency of the funds. Whether all these measures will be sufficient to secure the financial situation of the funds remains uncertain. At first it is clear that the Federal Ministry of Health is forcing a weakening of the statutory health care system. Health benefits should be privatized step by step, at least all previous announcements from the ministry have no other conclusion. (Sb)

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