Private patients flee to the health insurance

Tariferhöhungen in the PKV: private patients flee to the statutory health insurance

01/09/2012

According to the general local health insurance AOK tens of thousands of private insured want back in the statutory health insurance. The reason: Private health insurance companies are becoming more and more expensive and have repeatedly raised their tariffs sharply at the beginning of the year. The problem: Almost always the way back into the womb of the statutory health insurance is closed. However, some health insurances help via detours to get out and about. The Association of Private Health Insurance (PKV) contradicts the media reports.

PKV increased tariffs at the turn of the year
At the turn of the year, private health insurance companies (PKV) have massively increased their contributions. Social security such as family co-insurance or income-related contributions do not exist in private insurance. As a result, tens of thousands of private patients, despite perceived advantages such as chief physician treatment or single occupancy in clinics, are trying their luck to get back into the statutory health insurance.

According to the chairman of the AOK Rheinland / Hamburg, Wilfried Jacobs, were private insured „frequent telephone inquiries to come to the AOK“. The number of willing to change has risen sharply in recent times, Jacobs reports to the mirror. According to the newspaper report, over the past year more than 27,600 people have switched from PKV to GKV. Compared to the same period of the previous year, nine percent more insured persons moved from private to public health insurance. A similar observation made the Techniker health insurance. There were about 68,000 self-employed and workers. Here, too, the health insurance company recorded an increase of twelve percent compared to the previous year.

Many complaints and change requests
Consumer Centers have been reporting complaints from customers for years „simply have no desire to accept price increases of 50 to 60 percent“, as insurance expert Peter Neumann reports. Then many would only find their way into the basic rate. The Association of Private Health Insurance (PKV), however, blames the bad payment practices of its members for the misery. More than 140,000 insured would not be able to pay their contributions. Therefore, many providers have to compensate for the outage payments and increase the tariffs, since the defaulting payers contribution losses of over 500 million euros have arisen. The industry is silent, however, that the problem is homemade. In order to revive the new customer business so-called lock offers were constructed. This has often lured people into the private health insurance, which can not afford to be privately insured. The black-yellow federal government did its best to cobble the PKV new customers. As part of the health care reform in 2011, workers' bill of exchange was made much easier. Many cash patients took this as an opportunity to insure themselves privately.

So it's no wonder that many are now trying to turn their backs on private health insurance. Especially in old age, private rates are really expensive. „Many private patients are considering going to the doctor three times because they fear the later high costs“, as Neumann continues to report. Some of the tariffs will rise by 50 percent this year. All of a sudden, those affected have to pay far more than they had to do then.

PKV Association contradicts the representations in the media
The Association of Private Health Insurance (PKV) has contradicted the media reports after PKV providers lose over-insured. Compared to the Stuttgarter Nachrichten (SN) Association spokesman Stefan Reker said on Monday, it was "the fact that every year many more legally insured persons switch to private health insurance, as opposed to". The appearance, which the health insurance companies now convey, is in the opinion of the speaker "dubious". Actually, the cash system would have to increase its contributions by at least 10 percent if it did not get around "15 billion euros in subsidies at the expense of taxpayers" every year. In addition, additional funds are being used for drug reimbursements, practice fees and benefit reductions, "says Reker.

Health Minister sees PKV in duty
The Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr (FDP) called in a newspaper interview with the "Neue Westfälische Zeitung" the private funds to "offer cheaper rates." In the opinion of the FDP top politician should actually "no incentives are created to infiltrate the SHI system to switch to the statutory health insurance".

Contribution to health insurance stable
At the statutory health insurance companies members are currently safe from price increases, because the health insurance could generate billions in large surpluses. Although the contributions were not lowered, but the last health insurance will abolish the additional contributions in the course of the new year. Thus, the contributions are stable this year and contribution increases are currently not in sight.

A change back is almost impossible
Many private insured already fail when trying to change. After all, anyone who has dropped out of the legal system for whom the way back is denied forever. Only in a few exceptional cases it is possible to be reinsured by law. This is the case, for example, when formerly self-employed persons change to permanent employment with an employer or employees who fall below the mandatory insurance limit of 45,900 euros. Even an incoming unemployment is still not sufficient reason to change. However, many health insurance companies help those affected, but still find a way out via detours. "There are tricks with which we can help private patients," says a health insurance employee the sheet. The only prerequisite is that the "respective employer joins in". Insurance experts advise, however, to first check a change in the insurer's tariff, since the retirement also causes the retirement provisions to be lost. (Sb)

Read the report:
Health insurance: additional contributions come again
Complaints about increase in PKV contributions
Health insurance: What will change in 2012?
Private health insurance may terminate
New PKV tariff for non-payers
Contributor: PKV increases massively tariffs

Picture: Gerd Altmann