Additional contribution no special hardship in Hartz IV

The additional contribution of the health insurance does not provide „special hardness“ for Hartz IV recipients, as the Social Court of Freiburg currently ruled. Unemployment benefit II recipients have to pay additional contributions themselves.

19/01/2011

Hartz IV recipients must pay the additional contribution of the health insurance. Although the legislature has decided in the course of health care reform to take over the additional contributions for recipients of unemployment benefit II and social assistance benefits, however, only the average additional contributions are assumed by the federal government. Currently, the average additional contribution is included „Zero euros“, because only a minority of the funds currently require additional contributions. If a health insurance company changes its statutes, the persons affected must pay the additional contribution from the ALG II standard rate in this case. Not a few of the health insurance companies have such a change in the statute or have already implemented it.

Additional contribution no case of „special hardness“
A recent judgment of the Social Court Freiburg / Breisgau (Az. S 14 AS 3578/10) sees no case for those affected „special hardness“. This means that Hartz IV recipients are not entitled to take over the additional contributions if they have missed a changeover date due to additional contributions. The verdict states that the legislator has planned in the course of the health care reform to change the health insurance, if this flat-rate demands additional contributions. Such a change under claim of the special right of termination was a „legally intended rule“, so the judges. So anyone who has missed a change date, therefore, has no claim against the job center on the assumption of costs and remains even sitting on it.

According to the Social Code (SGB), the statutory health insurance can be terminated until the first due date, if an additional contribution is levied. „And since this can affect every member of the board equally, whether or not it receives social assistance, this compulsion to change does not mean special, but only a general hardship“, commented lawyer dr. Dietmar Breer in a press release the decision of the Social Court. These „normal“ However, charging an additional contribution is not enough for the service providers to pay for it. The Social Court has now strengthened the attitude of the job center and significantly weakened the position of those affected. (Sb)

Image: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio.de.