Rescue of the ailing health insurance companies

Rescue of the ailing health insurance City BKK and GBK decided

(20.11.2010)
For the time being, the company health insurance funds City BKK and GBK, which are in financial difficulties, are being rescued by the other company funds. As confirmed a spokeswoman for the Federal Association of health insurance companies (BKK), the chairmen of the health insurance had agreed to help the two funds again. Numerous measures prevented an imminent closure by the Federal Insurance Office at the last minute. The insurance office had loud information of the „world“ threatened with the threat of insolvency, the closure of the two health insurance. This could be prevented by the aid measures of the BKK-Verband.

At the BKK board meeting, which lasted nearly five hours, it was agreed to provide financial assistance to City BKK. In the course of this, the fund will be imposed a strict recovery plan. As the BKK spokeswoman said, the association wanted to monitor the rehabilitation closely. In the City BKK are about 200,000 people health insurance. According to unconfirmed reports, the City BKK has accumulated a debt of around 50 million euros. The goal is to free the fund of the debt burden in several stages. However, the City BKK has to accept that all steps to be remedied by the Federal Insurance Office, the Federal Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV) and independent consultants is monitored.

For the GBK based in Cologne they wanted to find a fusion partner within the BKK network. The smaller GBK covers around 30,000 people. If a future partner declares its willingness to join forces with the beleaguered GBK, it will receive a 15 million euro financial aid. This help should serve as an incentive for a merger. Both grants are paid out of the group of company health insurance funds. Actually it was planned that the GBK closes with the AOK Rheinland / Hamburg together. According to recent decisions, this partner will apparently be out of the race.

The insured were never threatened with losing their health insurance coverage. Had one of the two funds had to close, the other health insurance companies would have had to accept the insured. Non-completed treatments would still have been funded. However, closing a health insurance fund entails a risk that can not be calculated by other health insurers and could mutate into a snowball effect. After all, the debt burden would have to be borne by the other funds, which in turn could themselves be in a bottleneck. For this reason, the association bosses had to decide to initiate the rescue. Closure would have involved even greater risk. (Sb)

Also read:
Bankruptcy of health insurance funds averted
Health insurance City BKK & GBK threatened by bankruptcy
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Two health insurance companies are broke