Million savings in PKV

Medicinal discounts allow PKV millions of savings

29/06/2011

The private health insurance (PKV) benefit significantly from the expansion of drug rebates. Since the beginning of the year, private health insurance companies have also been able to negotiate drug discounts with manufacturers. As a result, according to the Scientific Institute of the PKV million savings in drug expenditure.

According to the scientific institute of private health insurance, savings of 161 million euros will be achieved in 2011, which represents a 6.9 percent reduction in pharmaceutical expenditures compared to the previous year. Thus, the measure of the Federal Government to strengthen the competitiveness of private health insurance clearly bearing fruit, but at the same time more and more statutory health insurance (GKV) are struggling with considerable difficulties, as the recent bankruptcy of City BKK clarified.

161 million euros in drug expenditure savings
The extension of the pharmaceutical discounts to private health insurance will, according to calculations of the scientific institute of private health insurance, by the end of 2011 probably enable savings in heights of around 161 million euros. This would reduce the pharmaceutical expenditure of private health insurance companies by almost seven percent compared to 2010. By the beginning of the year, the private funds for pharmaceuticals had to pay the full price, but the changes in the drug rebate law as part of health care reform now allow private health insurance companies to negotiate discounts with manufacturers. This option was previously reserved exclusively for the statutory health insurance. The costs of spending per prescription therefore developed very differently for private health insurance and statutory health insurance. The private health insurance companies had to spend an average of 10.2 percent per drug prescription in 2009, compared to the statutory health insurance funds. According to the Scientific Institute, this difference between pharmaceutical expenditure on private health insurance and statutory health insurance will be offset by the extension of drug discounts by the end of the year, to 7.7 percent.

Differences in drug expenditure between PKV and GKV
Although the private funds still have to pay significantly more for the same drugs than the statutory health insurance, but the gap is closing, according to the assessment of the Scientific Institute of private health insurance. The current reduction in pharmaceutical expenditure is a very welcome development for private funds, as drug costs have always been one of the main cost drivers in recent years. Thus, the private funds over their association in the run-up to the health reform end of last year massively on an expansion of the drug rebates urged. The Federal Government from CDU, CSU and FDP had followed the request and passed a corresponding amendment to the drug rebate law. However, the statutory health insurance companies will continue to record fewer expenditures per drug regulation in the future, as their rebate agreements have a significantly different scope and the cash discount of the pharmacies is only granted to the statutory health insurance, according to the Scientific Institute of the PKV. Moreover, pharmacies are legally obliged to give off these drugs in the case of drug discount agreements of the GKV, whereas for private health insurance no comparable legal regulations exist. Overall, however, the expansion of drug rebates significantly strengthened the competitive position of private health insurance. (Fp)

Also read:
PKV expects increase in full insurance
Consumer advocates warn against PKV low tariffs
Health insurance companies block insurance changes
PKV: No return for students in the GKV

Picture: Margot Kessler