Erfurt (dpa/th) - Minister of Health Heike Werner (left) strictly rejects a deductible for those with statutory health insurance of up to 2000 euros a year for treatments. "Some don't know how to pay for the deductibles and increasing deductibles of the insurance companies, the others make health a commodity that is traded on the stock exchange," Werner commented on Wednesday about the suggestion of an economist.
Instead of "constantly" compensating for the deficits of the statutory health insurance companies with own shares and deductibles by the insured, a fundamental rethinking of the financing of the health system is necessary. A common insurance for everyone is necessary, said Werner, "then it will be cheaper again for each individual".
The Freiburg economics professor Bernd Raffelhüschen had demanded in the "Bild" newspaper (Wednesday) that patients would have to pay more out of their own pockets in the future. "We can no longer afford the system," he said. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) rejected the initiative.
According to the economist's proposal, 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 compensation for people with low incomes is planned from the federal budget.
Those with statutory health insurance already have to make co-payments to a certain extent for medical services such as hospital treatment, prescription drugs or remedies. The amount is limited to two percent of the annual gross income, for chronically ill people under certain conditions to one percent.
