From 2019, workers and pensioners are expected to pay less for ir contribution to statutory health insurance. To this end, federal Minister of State for Finance Jens Spahn (CDU) presented a bill. In future, additional contribution to be paid by insured alone is to be taken over by employers again. This corresponds to a discharge of a total of 6.9 billion euros for insured.
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Who earns 3,000 euros per month, according to plans of Spahn n has 15 euros more per month available. With return to joint contribution financing, economy will have an additional cost of around 4.5 billion euros per year. At present, additional contribution is on average at 1.0 percent. The general contribution rate of 14.6 percent remains unchanged from health minister’s plan.
The law also provides for a reduction of around 600,000 small independents. These could not currently pay ir minimum contribution to statutory health insurance, said Spahn. Therefore, contribution for small independents should be halved to 171 euros per month. This project adds up to a total discharge of 800 million euros. His legislation thus solves “a social question” for small self-employed, health minister was convinced.
The bill now goes into government’s internal departmental voting. Spahn hopes for a cabinet decision at end of May and a farewell in Bundestag after summer break.
Health insurance companies need to reduce high financial reserves
In addition, Spahn wants to force health insurance funds to reduce high financial reserves in future. The draft law provides that financial reserves of a health insurance fund may not be higher than a monthly expenditure. Cash registers with higher reserves may not raise ir additional contribution. “We want health funds to have reserves for worse times, for uncertainties, but y should not hoard overly money,” said minister. The money should be returned to contributors by means of a corresponding reduction in contributions, he demanded.
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Surplus revenues must be dismantled by coffers according to new plans over a three-year period. If you do not meet this requirement, amounts must be paid to health fund. The health fund collects all contributions from coffers and federal subsidy and n assigns funds to individual funds on basis of certain criteria.
If surpluses are partially degraded, bill could be reduced by about 600 million euros per year to draft law in next three years. According to plans, total discharge is about 8.3 billion euros per year. The Association of replacement funds welcomed SPAHNS projects, as insured would no longer have to bear costs of medical progress alone.
However, coalition partner immediately criticised: The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach spoke out against forced dismantling of financial reserves of health insurance companies. The money is urgently needed for financing of care, said Lauterbach to newspapers of Spark Media Group. “If we now melt reserves of coffers, we will not have enough funds in long term to tackle nursing emergency.”
