2000 euros out of your own pocket?
Lauterbach against a higher deductible for health insurance patients
02/22/2023, 12:31 p.m
The health insurance companies are threatened with a record deficit. Economist Raffelhüschen is therefore promoting a higher deductible. Above all, he wants to ask smokers and risky sports enthusiasts to pay. Minister of Health Lauterbach does not want to hear anything about this: For most, these proposals are priceless.
To finance the healthcare system, the economist Bernd Raffelhüschen advocates that those with statutory health insurance pay up to 2,000 euros a year by themselves. “We can no longer afford the system,” said the Freiburg economics professor of the “Bild” newspaper. “In the future, patients will have to pay more out of their own pockets.”
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, however, gave the initiative a clear rejection: “For university professors like Mr. Raffelhüschen or me, these proposals would be affordable,” Lauterbach tweeted. “For the vast majority of the population, that’s not possible.”
The economist Raffelhüschen, who, in addition to his academic work at the University of Freiburg, previously sat on the supervisory board of the insurance group Ergo, wants a staggered deductible with state social compensation. Raffelhüschen warned that unless countermeasures are taken, the contribution rate will increase to up to 22 percent of gross wages by 2035. At the moment it is – including the additional contribution – an average of just under 16 percent.
“The proposal will not come”
According to the economist’s plans, patients should in future receive an invoice after visiting the doctor and pass it on to the health insurance company, “which then assumes a large part of the costs”. There should be several levels for patients to contribute themselves, which are capped “at a total of 1,500 or 2,000 euros per year”. At the same time, social equalization is planned. “The subsidies for low earners, for example, must come from the federal budget.”
Raffelhüschen also advocated that insured persons should pay for injuries after self-chosen risks – such as skiing – in full themselves. “Smokers must also contribute more to the follow-up costs of treatments themselves,” he demanded.
In Germany, around 73 million insured persons are cared for by one of the 96 health insurance companies – this corresponds to around 90 percent of the population. A deficit of 17 billion euros is expected in statutory health insurance for the current year – according to Lauterbach, this is a historic proportion. Raffelhüschen’s plans are still not an option for the minister: “The proposal will not come.”