Nursing insurance SPD wants to ask PKV to checkout

SPD working paper: Private health insurance should be more involved in the cost of care

23.02.2012

The health insurance funds are missing millions. As a result of demographic change, people are getting older and older, and so does the need for care in old age. The SPD again proposes to include the private health insurance (PKV) in the financing. The umbrella organization of private health insurers shows up as expected „shocked“ and speaks in this context of „expropriation“. According to a position paper, private health insurance is to be involved with around half a billion euros annually.

Filled care funds through solidary citizen insurance
Each year half a billion euros from the capital stock of private health insurance in the statutory long-term care insurance to flow to secure care in old age for all people in Germany. This is in a preliminary position paper of an SPD working group, which is to be decided on March 7, 2012 in the parliamentary group of the Social Democrats. As a reason, the paper argues that the SPD model of solidary citizenship insurance should also apply to long-term care insurance.

The crux of the discussion is the fact that cash patients make payments to the statutory long-term care insurance depending on their income. Private insured, however, pay only a lump sum of 28 euros per month. In the position paper, the SPD working group calls for private health insurance members to pay income-related care contributions instead of the lump sum. According to the Social Democrats could thus generate additional revenue of about two billion euros per year. Only recently did the PKV Verband announce that the average contributions since the introduction of the private long-term care insurance "dropped significantly".

Indignation on the part of the FDP and health insurers
The plans cause fierce protests on the part of the health insurance companies and the FDP. Volker Leienbacuh, chairman of the Association of Private Health Insurance, condemned the proposals and described them as „expropriation“ the private patient. Leienbach suspects that such an implementation even against the West German „Constitution violates“. The tips of the SPD would have in the opinion of the head of the private health insurance than the citizens „Irrweg“ recognized the working group and had long deviated from the concept. In his opinion, it is an illusion that an amount of 100 million euros come together when the annual revenue is just 2.1 billion euros per year.

Heinz Lanfermann, health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, attacked the SPD sharply. In his opinion, the plans would „destroy the nursing plans of around 9 million private insured.“ Finally, the retirement provisions would belong to the privately insured and by the „Fundamental right to property“ constitutionally secured.

Superior system through unequal risk distribution
On the criticism from the ranks of the FDP and the insurance association, the SPD replied that the PKV always speak of one „Thinking system“, but that ultimately only arises because the „Risk distribution unlike in private and statutory long-term care insurance“ be distributed. For example, the age group over 80 years of age in PKV „sparse“, why the PKV currently a capital stock „could accumulate more than 20 billion euros“.

The thesis paper of the SPD supplements this „policy paper“ from last year, in which the proposals for implementation are specified. It read that it was advantageous that the income threshold of the long-term care insurance should be raised to 5500 euros. In SPD circles, however, the proposal could not find a majority, which is why this is no longer found in the new paper. (Sb)

Also read:
PKV reduces contributions to long-term care insurance
New models of long-term care insurance in demand
Solidary care instead of private care risk
Rösler plans private supplementary care insurance
Contribution assessment limit is lowered
Contribution increase expected at nursing care insurance

Picture: Gerd Altmann