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Health insurance contributions rise again
Health insurance contributions will rise next year
For months it has been speculated that health insurance contributions should increase. According to a message from the news agency dpa, Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) has now confirmed this: in 2016, the Kassen members will receive higher contributions for statutory health insurance (SHI). The minister said that the average additional contribution workers have to handle alone is expected to increase by 0.2 percentage points to 1.1 percent. The average total contribution thus increases to 15.7 percent. The Ministry followed with the decision of the recommendation of the experts of the so-called circle of estimators from Federal Insurance Office, Federal Ministry of Health and GKV-Spitzenverband.
The contributions of the health insurance funds should rise next year. Picture: SZ-Designs - fotolia Concrete numbers
Health insurance contributions will increase in 2016 ("https://www.heilpraxisnet.de/naturheilpraxis/2016-werden-krankenkassenbeitraege-steigen-901853447265.php"), health experts had already predicted at the beginning of the year. The now announced increase means for a worker with an average gross income of 2915 euros per month: The contribution share of employees increases by six to 245 euros. And with a monthly income equal to the income threshold of 4237.50 euros, the contribution share of employees would rise by about eight to 356 euros.
Additional contribution only for employees
The fixed contribution rate of 15.5 percent had been reduced by 0.9 points to 14.6 percent as of January 1, 2015. Cashiers and their employers share half of it. If the funds need more money, they can determine depending on their own financial position, an additional contribution. This additional contribution is determined by the individual health insurance companies themselves and is borne exclusively by the employees. They may differ from this average depending on their economic situation. The respective fund must consider what they want to expect their members.
Health insurance companies merge
Gröhe had pointed out that the 123 health insurance companies had total financial reserves of 15 billion euros. However, these are distributed very differently among the individual insurance carriers. Actually, with the new regulation of the health insurance funds more competition should be enforced among them. However, this also meant that some cluttered cash funds merged. Only a few days ago it was announced that in the coming year - in time for the increase in the additional contribution - a merger of Barmer GEK and German BKK should come.
Employers should participate
In the first half of 2015, the health insurances in Germany recorded a loss of around € 500 million. Among other things, this has to do with the fact that pharmaceutical expenditures rose drastically in 2015. In addition, the GKV-Spitzenverband repeatedly pointed out that the reforms of the size of the hospital structure, as well as the hospitals, would be massively burdened in the future. As in the past, the increase in the additional contribution sparked once again the discussion about a parity financing of the entire health insurance contribution. According to the dpa, the President of the Social Union VdK, Ulrike Mascher affirmed: "There must not be another one-sided burden on citizens. (...) Employers must again participate in the financing in equal measure. Their share is frozen at 7.3 percent. "(Ad)