Additional contribution Health insurance companies lose insured

Over 650,000 insured changed the health insurance due to additional contributions

26/01/2011

The introduction of additional contributions has brought some health insurance companies a considerable loss of members. Over half a million insured have made use of their special right of termination in the past year. Cash registers that do not make any additional contributions experienced significant membership growth.

Change of health insurance wanted by the policy
The introduction of additional contributions has brought the health insurance heavy losses. Over one million statutory health insurance then quit their old health insurance and switched to a new health insurance. If the additional contributions were capped until the turn of the year, since the entry into force of the health care reform, the health insurances can determine the amount of the additional lump sums themselves. So far, most SHI providers come by raising the regular contribution rate without an additional contribution. However, health economists are forecasting almost nationwide lump sums for the coming years, which will be charged additionally. The change reason will then no longer be the fact as such, but the amount of the additional contribution. In the opinion of the Federal Ministry of Health, this promotes competition in the health sector. Cash registers which act economically should benefit from the willingness of the insured to switch. The number of statutory health insurances will be minimized and in the sense of capital-oriented action, numerous health insurances will have to go bankrupt. This too is in the interest of politics, which aims at minimizing the funds.

Special right of termination makes health insurance change possible
If a health insurance company raises an additional contribution or if the already existing additional contribution is increased, insured persons can make use of their special right of termination and change them. The insured person is then bound to the contract for 18 months, unless the new health insurance also charges a lump sum or increases the existing one. Last year, about half a million people made use of this right. Benefited from the alternating migrations have the cash, which get along with the regular cash contribution. Especially many new members could register the Barmer GEK, the general Ortskrankenkasse AOK and the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). Significant losers were mainly the German employees health insurance as well as the KKH alliance. Both providers demand an additional contribution of eight euros this year as well.

Heavy losses for the DAK and KKH alliance
The DAK was hit hardest. Around 460,000 people turned their backs on the DAK and changed hands. This corresponds to a proportion of a full seven percent in terms of the total number of members. The number of insured persons fell from around 6.3 to 5.8 million since the beginning of the new year. The strongest movements were in the course of the first launch in the spring of last year. At the KKH alliance there were about 190,000 citizens who left the cash register. Here the loss share amounts to nine percentage points. According to official information from the KKH alliance, a membership of 2.05 million insured persons was registered in early 2010. At the end of the year, there were only about 1.86 million people insured. In addition to the two largest funds, eleven other smaller health insurance companies are currently making an additional contribution. In total, 650,000 insured persons changed their health insurance last year.

Large health insurance companies benefit
The clear winner was the Barmer GEK, which registered a membership increase of 100,000 new members. The Techniker health insurance could gain even 340,000 members. This corresponds to an increase in growth of around 4.5 percent. The AOK with their regional subdivisions, the IKK Classic (plus 46,000) and the Vereinigte IKK (plus 26,000) also posted significant gains in terms of their membership.

According to a spokesman for the health insurance, the special right of termination granted is actually responsible for this. Many insured see the additional contribution as a reason to leave their health insurance. Individual health services of individual providers seem less argumentative. The introduction of additional contributions has apparently turned out to be unfavorable for the funds. Only when additional funds can not exclude an additional contribution, a new migration between the statutory health insurance will take place. In all probability, this will be the case from 2012 or at the latest from 2013 onwards. From then on, the agreed premium increases will no longer be sufficient. (Sb)

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