Social Association additional contributions must go

The social association Volkssolidarität demands: "Additional contributions must go!"

(18.08.2010) "If one million legally insured persons pay no additional contributions, that is a resounding slap in the health policy erroneous path of the Federal Government", explained the Federal managing director of the social and welfare association "Volkssolidarität". Bernd Netherlands, on Wednesday. He criticized the announced plans of the government coalition, a late payment surcharge of up to three monthly contributions for health insurance members to raise, which do not pay the additional contribution. The penalties now planned further aggravate the situation. It is time to correct the course that has been taken and return to solidarity financing for health care costs. ??

"The governing coalition is making it too easy," said Netherland. First, you leave the path of shared funding and burden the insured with the brunt of rising health costs, then punish them for not functioning. That's just absurd. For the health insurance companies there are new financial imponderables, which are ultimately carried out on the backs of the patients and the insured. This path leads to a dead end. The consequence can only be that the additional contributions must be abolished again.

The declaration that the insured would refuse to pay the additional contributions, described the federal executive as too one-sided. "Maybe one should think about the fact that unemployed people, small pensions and low-income earners simply have problems to make payments beyond their regular health insurance contribution." This problem can only be dealt with when the financing of health care costs solidarity, he emphasized. There are enough alternatives to the path taken by the Federal Government. Instead of freezing employers' contributions and extending the additional contributions to capitation, a return to joint financing is necessary. Instead of facilitating the exodus of high earners to private health insurance, incomes above the current income threshold have to be included in the
Contribution collection. Instead of consolidating private health insurance and two-tier medicine, private health insurance must be included in a financial equalization. Instead of giving in to the lobby interests of pharmaceutical companies and service providers, health networks should be promoted that focus on patient interests and focus on prevention. (Pm)

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