Many private insured no better earners

Income of many private insured persons under the compulsory insurance

06/29/2012

The insured persons of the private health insurance (PKV) do not belong, as often assumed, to the upper income groups. With their income, most of them are well below the statutory insurance limit, according to a study by the Scientific Institute of Private Health Insurance (WIP)..

„The socio-economic structure of the PKV collective was analyzed on the basis of the data of the current income and consumption sample 2008 of the Federal Statistical Office“, reports the WIP. The experts found that the PKV members „a very heterogeneous group“ which by no means covers only high incomes. In fact, in 2008, only one-fifth of private insured reached the envisaged mandatory limit of income of 4,012.50 euros per month, reports the Scientific Institute of Private Health Insurance in its latest press release.

Half of the private insured are unemployed
According to the results of the WIP survey, civil servants constitute the largest group of individuals with private insurance. Their share of the entire PKV collective is 25 percent, according to WIP. Whole eleven percent of private insureds come from the group of workers, just under 16 percent are self-employed. Overall, according to the experts, however „only half of all private insured persons in the labor force.“ Also, only 20 percent of PKV members achieved income above the compulsory insurance limit, the actual as a condition of access (except for self-employed, civil servants and freelancers) applies to private health insurance. Thus, the widespread prejudice that PKV is mainly insured for high-income people is refuted. But this raises the question why so many people are privately insured without fulfilling the compulsory insurance limit.

Heterogeneous collective of private insured
The study on the socio-economic structures of the PKV collective also shows that among private insured persons „All school and vocational qualifications occur“, reports the WIP. In addition, relatively many PKV members are married, which „In conjunction with the increasing number of children with private insurance, it is clear that not only singles without children have private health insurance“, so the message of the institute. According to the WIP experts, „PKV offers health insurance coverage for different social groups and people with different incomes, for families with children as well as for students or retirees.“

Problems are not named
In fact, the study shows the structures of the group of insureds, but it does not name the existing problems, which are currently repeatedly discussed elsewhere. So not only the massive premium increases, but also the gaps in the benefit claims of the private insured were increasingly in public criticism. The current findings of the WIP now suggest that possibly the heterogeneous composition of PKV members could also be part of the problem. For the unemployed and low-income private health insurance members are hardly demanding cost-covering contributions, so that they are usually housed in a cheaper rate with lower benefit claims. The so-called base rate is currently the lowest limit here. The result is an increased criticism of the scope of PKV, but a cost-covering calculation, as required by the PKV, in the cheaper tariffs inevitably allows only a lower performance. The heterogeneity of the insured is therefore at the expense of the reputation of private health insurance.

Read about:
Merger of PKV and GKV required
PKV tariffs have massive performance gaps
AOK study: premium increases of 2700 euros
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