Health insurance additional contribution no major change

Health insurance additional contribution still no reason to change. More important are service and health services

08/02/2011

So far, economists have always assumed that the introduction of additional contributions is a major reason for a health insurance change. The market research institute „MSR Consulting“ published the survey results of the „Kubus GKV“. Thus, insured would change their health insurance not due to higher costs, but because of poor health care and lack of service. The additional contributions of individual health insurance companies represent for the majority rather a secondary reason for change. However, this may also be due to the fact that currently only a minority of health insurances require an additional fee.

Supplementary contribution of health insurance only plays a minor role
Currently, 13 out of 163 health insurance companies charge an additional contribution. Over half a million people changed their statutory health insurance last year. So far, always, the change takes place mainly because of the collected additional contributions of individual funds. But just that aspect refutes the MSR study. Rather, respondents to the representative study indicated that local services and service are the most important. This includes, for example, how competent the insured was treated in a regional office and how generously the health insurance company reimbursed individual health services. The duration of the processing of applications also played an important role in the survey.

A total of 4,000 health insured members of a statutory health insurance fund took part in the survey. According to the study, the willingness to change is relatively low at a maximum of minus seven percent compared to the average. The question of whether the respective health insurance company requires an additional contribution or not, played as a substitute only a secondary role. The additional cash contributions therefore only play a decisive role when services no longer meet the customers' expectations. In this case, the willingness to change increases by more than 30 percent. If the fund does not charge an additional contribution and the service is poor, then 20 percent of the respondents would favor a change.

Insured persons pay attention to customer-oriented services
Even without additional contribution, the health insurance companies have to pay attention to their offers and their service. Michael Kullmann from MSR Consulting takes a critical look at the changeover between health insurance funds last year. Only if the health insurance company pays attention to their services can the new members be kept. The study made it clear that insured persons pay attention to services and customer-oriented service. Health benefits and care are therefore more important to the insured than cost-effective cash contributions.

Cost effective and low power
Only about one in four respondents stated that a favorable health insurance will be successful in the future. A majority (60 percent) stated that they were more likely to rely on services and good service provided by the branches in the long term. In addition, a majority stated that in their opinion, the number of funds would minimize by mergers. Whether the survey results are still the same, if a large number of health insurance companies levies high additional contributions, remains to be seen. Currently only a few of the insured are affected. (Sb)

Read about additional contributions of the health insurances:
Health Insurance Mergers increase costs
Additional contribution no special hardship in Hartz IV
Hartz IV: 13 health insurance companies charge additional contribution
Health insurance additional contributions: change is worthwhile
Health insurance companies criticize the health care reform

Picture: Alfred J. Hahnenkamp