Stronger increase in PKV contributions

Federal Government calls new figures for contribution development of private health insurance

04/20/2012

Private health insurance (PHI) contributions have risen on average more strongly in recent years than previously assumed. The private insured had to spend nearly five percent more each year on their insurance contributions, according to the German government's response to a request from the left.

In response to the parliamentary question from the left, the Federal Ministry of Finance presented the contribution of private health insurance from 2000 to 2010. The basis was the figures of the financial regulator Bafin. The Ministry of Finance's response shows that, unlike any other claim to date, contributions to private health care have increased on average by a whopping five percent each year. The private health insurance association had announced on Wednesday that the annual premium increase in private health insurance was just under 3.3 percent and that this was only slightly more than the 3.1 percent of the statutory health insurance (SHI).

Contribution increase of five percent annually in private health insurance
However, the Communication from the Federal Ministry of Finance now comes to a significantly different conclusion. With an average of five percent per year, the increases in private health insurance in the years 2000 to 2010 were well above the increases in statutory health insurance. However, this did not harm the influx of insured persons. PKV insures more customers than ever before. Almost nine million people are fully insured in private health insurance. In addition, there are around 23 million people with private supplementary insurance. The individual private insured persons are affected to the utmost extent by the premium increases. The individual increases in the contributions depend on the design of more than 5,000 individual tariffs, according to the Ministry.

PKV contribution development Reason for criticism of the health system
The drastic increases in private health insurance contributions have recently sparked heated debate on the future of bipartite health care, in which some politicians as well as chairpersons of public health insurance bodies discussed the abolition of private health insurance. The annual increase in contributions by an average of five percent, which has now been determined by the Federal Ministry of Finance, is likely to have an impact on the critics' mills like water. Especially since the expenditure of private health insurance, with only 4.3 percent last year, rose much less than the contributions. Whether individual groups of private insured persons, such as retirees, may be disproportionately burdened, leaves open the answer of the Federal Government in principle. However, it is pointed out that insurers use numerous legal instruments to limit the contribution burden of private persons with old age.

Private health insurance registers membership gains
Other consequences for the health insurance of employees who are in a public service and loyalty, are not planned according to the Federal Government. The civil service health insurance from assistance and private security should not be changed. This system has proven itself. The civil servants make up 47.5 percent of private health insurance in total, and a restructuring could quickly lead to significant membership losses in private health insurance. At the moment, however, private health insurance continues to record increases in insured persons. According to Reinhold Schulte, Chairman of the Association of Private Health Insurance, last year's net new addition to private health insurance was 80,800. In the previous year, the PKV was able to win 84,700 fully insured persons.

Increased market share of private health insurance
Overall, the market share of private health insurance has risen further and 11.3 percent of Germans today are fully insured in private health insurance, reported Reinhold Schulte in the press release on Wednesday. However, it has to be taken into account that the opportunities for switching to private health insurance were considerably eased by the Federal Government during the same period, so that considerably more people have access to private health insurance at all. Looking at the share of PKV members in the total population over the last five years, however, the changes, with an increase of 0.6 percent (10.7 to 11.3 percent), are rather moderate. However, many of these 8.98 million privately insured their insurance appears to be more expensive than expected. Because with an annual premium increase of five percent, as assumed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, significant sums are quickly due. The most recently achieved top rates of over € 1,000 a month for a private insurance could therefore possibly not remain exceptional in the future. (Fp)

Continue reading:
Hartz IV: Debt relief for PKV insured
Criticism of PKV is growing
Termination model private health insurance (PKV)
Cost trap PKV: How those affected can defend themselves
PKV: For non-payers only emergency care
Health insurance: Non-payers cause losses
Private patients flee to the health insurance
Health insurance: additional contributions come again
Complaints about increase in PKV contributions
Health insurance: What changes 2016351a2cc0b08c03> Image: Ronny Richert