Techniker health insurance TK requires additional contribution

Techniker health insurance has decided additional contribution

12/12/2014

The Federal Government lowers the general health insurance set. In the same breath the cash registers may raise additional contributions. The Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) announced today that it will make an additional contribution. Most statutory health insurance companies are silent for fear of a cash change. Experts, however, assume that „Most health insurance companies will make an additional contribution“.

TK today announces an additional contribution as one of the first funds: „The additional contribution for health insurance amounts to 0.8 percent in 2015, which is below the average for statutory health insurance. For TC members, the contribution rate drops from 15.5 percent today to 15.4 percent“. This was decided today by the TK Board of Directors.

The budget of health insurance in the coming year is 22.7 billion euros. The expenditure on services will amount to 21.6 billion euros, which is 8.8 percent above the 2014 volume. The hospital sector alone accounted for 6.3 billion euros, an increase of 8.6 percent compared to the current year. Expenditure for doctors in private practice will amount to € 4.3 billion (+ 8.5%). At 3.7 billion euros, pharmaceuticals make up the third largest item of expenditure, 8.7 percent more than in 2014.

The long-term care insurance budget will be just under € 4.2 billion, of which € 2.8 billion will go to the Equalization Fund to support other long-term care funds whose expenditure is not covered by revenue.

The budget volume of employer levies U1 and U2 (paid continued sickness or maternity benefits under the so-called "compensation law") will be around 1.4 billion euros in 2015. The TK has 6.7 million paying members and a total of 9.2 million insured persons. So far this year, it has grown by 412,000 members and a total of 481,000 insured persons.

Knowledge: As of January 1, 2015, the general contribution rate of the statutory health insurance companies drops to 14.6 percentage points. So far, employers and employees have to pay 15.5 percent. The funds can decide on the amount of additional contributions themselves. Insured persons have the possibility to cancel with an additional contribution and to change the cash register. (Sb)