Tuesday, November 30th, 2021
“The traffic light has to go up again”
Health insurance companies warn against an increase in premiums
With a record grant, the federal government wants to prevent increasing contributions for those with statutory health insurance. That may not be enough for the head of the association, Pfeiffer. She criticizes the traffic light parties: The coalition agreement lacks foresight.
The chairwoman of the central association of statutory health insurances (GKV), Doris Pfeiffer, does not consider the plans of the possible traffic light coalition to be sufficient to rule out increasing contributions for the insured. “The measures planned in the coalition agreement alone may not be enough to make up for the deficit in statutory health insurance,” Pfeiffer told the “Handelsblatt”. “Therefore, at this point in time, increasing contributions from 2023 cannot be seriously ruled out.”
The federal government had stabilized the additional contribution, which currently averages 1.3 percent, for the coming year with a record subsidy of 28.5 billion euros. “As far as the following years are concerned, the traffic lights will have to go up,” said Pfeiffer. The GKV chairwoman regretted that the three parties could not agree, for example, to lower the value added tax on pharmaceuticals to seven percent. This measure would have relieved the coffers by five to six billion euros.
“The fact that the traffic light wants to adjust the regular federal subsidy for non-insurance benefits of 14.5 billion euros to the increasing expenditure is an important signal,” added Pfeiffer. “Now it is important that the growth is determined in such a way that inflation and the increasing expenditure on benefits are mapped.”
The financing of the health insurance contributions of unemployment benefit II recipients would also relieve the coffers considerably, said Pfeiffer. “But here, too, it depends on detailed questions – for example whether the entire costs are actually refinanced, which would be appropriate.” These measures could then increase revenues by ten billion euros.