Health insurance funds should repay contributions

Premium repayment required by the health insurance companies

05/10/2012

After the Federal Minister of Health had already expressed in the past month in view of the massive surpluses in some statutory health insurance for repaying the insured a portion of the contributions, the Federal Insurance Office (BVA) has now asked according to media reports individual health insurance to review a premium repayment.

According to the Federal Insurance Office premiums of at least 60 euros per year could be repaid to the insured, reports the „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ (FAZ), citing the letter of the BVA to several health insurance companies. The amount of the reserves laid down in the social legislation is clearly exceeded, so the reasoning of the Federal Insurance Office for the request for premium repayment. The insured health insurance companies now have until the beginning of June to react to the cover letter from the BVA.

Premium reimbursement to the insured required
The surpluses in numerous statutory health insurance funds and the reserves in the health fund have opened up scope for previously almost unknown discussions. While in recent years the lack of financial reserves and the closure of health insurance funds have been the focus of public debate, it is now debated how to deal with the surplus funds. The Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr (FDP) had already commented on this in February and demanded a distribution of the surplus in the form of contribution repayments to the insured. The reports of the „FAZ“ According to the claims in the current letter from the Federal Insurance Office go in the same direction. The health insurances with particularly high surpluses should examine whether a premium repayment is possible, since in the last years one at this height not to be expected „Build up of financial assets“ was done, said the BVA President Maximilian Gaßner in letters to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the Hanseatic Health Insurance Fund (HEK) and the IKK Gesund plus.

At least 60 euros per year are to be refunded
For the three insured health insurance funds, the amount of the reserves set by the Social Security Act would amount to 1.5 monthly expenses „clear“ exceeded, so that over a repayment of the premiums must be considered, justified the BVA its demands in that of the „FAZ“ cited cover letter. At least five euros per month or 60 euros per year, the health insurance funds, according to the letter of the BVA to pay back to its members. The health insurance companies were granted an explanation period until the beginning of June. An official opinion of the BVA is not yet available.

Different reactions to the demands of the Federal Insurance Office
The CDU was satisfied with the action of the Federal Insurance Office and the health spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, stressed: „It is true that the BVA is putting more pressure on the coffers to finally return surpluses to the insured as premiums.“ Because „Health insurance companies are not savings banks“, Spahn continues. However, it should not be forgotten that the health insurance companies were forced to resort to far-reaching austerity measures due to the massive financial difficulties in the past. Hardly surprising, therefore, that a premium repayment only comes to mind very few. Thus came the current demand of the BVA with the health insurance on criticism and a speaker of the GKV Spitzenverbandes stressed that its federation „In view of the rising expenditure on hospitals, medicines and doctor's fees, the government's announcement at the same time that the federal subsidy should be cut short, gives the health insurance premiums a great deal of sympathy“ have.

All funds with corresponding surpluses should pay out bonuses
In the Federal Ministry of Health, in view of the current letter from the BVA, it was pointed out that a possible premium repayment should not only affect the three insured health insurance companies, but also „all health insurances that meet the criteria set by the Federal Insurance Office.“ The spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health referred to this statement in the opinion of the „FAZ“ to the local health insurance funds such as the AOK Plus, which, however, are not subject to federal but to state supervision. Therefore, the respective countries would have to become active.

Billions of financial reserves in the statutory health insurance
The financial reserves that health insurance companies actually have can be guessed from the surpluses at the individual health insurance companies and the buffer in the health fund. Thus, the statutory health insurance last year came to a surplus of four billion euros and could, according to the figures of the Federal Ministry of Health increase their financial reserves to almost ten billion euros. In addition, reserves amounting to 9.5 billion euros in the health fund, so that the statutory health insurance currently have a financial cushion of nearly 20 billion euros. (Fp)

Read also on health insurance:
Minister of Health: Too many operations
Controversy over high surpluses of the health insurance companies
Dispute over billions in surplus in the health fund

Image: Benjamin Klack