Additional contributions increase: Health insurance: Contribution increase is not communicated

The additional contribution for health insurance increases, which makes things significantly more expensive for everyone with statutory health insurance.

Additional contributions increase: Health insurance: Contribution increase is not communicated

The additional contribution for health insurance increases, which makes things significantly more expensive for everyone with statutory health insurance. However, insured persons should no longer be informed personally about the increase in contributions from their health insurance fund. That leads to a lack of transparency.

The average additional contribution will increase by 0.3 percentage points to 1.6 percent as of January 1, 2023. This was decided by the Bundestag last week as part of the Statutory Health Insurance Financial Stabilization Act. In addition, the contribution assessment limit will be raised to EUR 59,850. This means that employees with statutory insurance have additional costs of up to 233 euros per year.

And so far unnoticed: unlike in the past, those with statutory health insurance should no longer be personally informed by letter about the increase in their health insurance contributions. Specifically, the obligation of the health insurance companies to send a separate information letter in the event of a premium increase will be suspended until June 30, 2023, as the comparison portal Check24 reports.

"This is a serious encroachment on the health insurance companies' previously applicable principles of competition and can lead to a loss of trust among insured persons," says Dr. Daniel Güssow, Managing Director Statutory Health Insurance at Check24. This eliminates an important source of information for insured persons. In January 2023, despite an increase in contributions, you will not receive any personal or written information from your health insurer. "At the moment when the contributions reach a record level, the most important possibility for those with statutory insurance to be informed transparently about their individual additional contributions is missing," says Güssow.

The previously obligatory information letter to the insured not only contained information about the contribution adjustments of the respective health insurance company, but also clearly highlighted the average additional contribution. This was to ensure that insured persons recognize and take advantage of opportunities to switch. This transparency is gone. In addition, it is to be feared that the financial burdens for the insured will even increase as a result of the abolition of the separate information obligation. The project provides an incentive for all statutory health insurance companies to immediately raise the contribution rate to the maximum possible level, since customers do not have to be informed individually about the adjustment.

The contribution is made up of the general rate of currently 14.6 percent, which is the same for all health insurers, and the additional contribution to be determined individually. Both the general contribution rate and the additional contribution are borne equally by employees and employers or by pensioners and the pension insurance. The average additional contribution is currently 1.3 percent. But the funds can also be higher or lower, because each decides individually on the amount of the contribution. The average additional contribution rate is set as an operand by the Federal Ministry of Health by ordinance.

Basically, all cash registers are freely selectable. Even if the insured person is older or is currently being treated. Provided that the fund is also available in the state of the insured person. At the same time, switching health insurance companies has been made significantly easier from 2021: In theory, policyholders have been able to switch to a cheaper health insurance company every year since then, similar to car insurance. For example, if you resign at the end of January, you will be in a new register on April 1st.

If the insurer increases the additional contribution, there is still a special right of termination at the end of the month in which the higher contribution is requested for the first time. If the contract is terminated regularly, it will take effect at the end of the month after next. Since January 2021, in all other cases, you are no longer tied to your insurance for 18 months as before, but only for 12 months, so you can theoretically change every year. In addition, switching has been made significantly easier: you simply register online with the new health insurance company and let your employer know that you want to change health insurance companies. In principle, you do not have to cancel the contract with the old health insurance company: the new health insurance company takes care of this electronically. An insurance gap is excluded when changing.

Good to know: Extensive medical care is stipulated by law and is the same for all health insurance companies. However, health insurance companies can offer additional services in certain areas that go beyond what is required by law. These extras may vary depending on the health insurance company.