Health insurance contributions will most likely rise significantly in the coming year. The health insurance companies expect an increase in the additional contribution, which households will clearly feel.
Berlin – Households in Germany must prepare for significant increases in social spending in the coming years. The contributions that employees have to pay every month are increasing in almost all areas: Pension contributions are expected to start increasing from 2026, as the traffic light government has decided with Pension Package II. And health insurance contributions are also due to increase due to the clinic reform by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). As the
Handelsblatt
now reports, the health insurance companies expect an increase in the additional contribution from the current 1.7 to 2.45 percent from 2025.
The table shows: So much less is left in your pocket due to higher health insurance contributions
Just a few weeks ago, the head of the health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit, Andreas Storm, warned of a significant increase in contributions. “We have to expect a premium increase of 0.5 percentage points for health insurance at the beginning of 2025 and 0.2 points for nursing care insurance,” he told the
Germany editorial network
at the end of March. There is “stronger spending momentum” in both social security systems than previously expected.
There will be a deficit of up to 2.5 billion euros in health insurance by the end of the year. “That is a very conservative estimate,” added the head of the third largest statutory health insurance company. Contrary to Lauterbach's promise, the nursing care insurance will also not make ends meet with the premium income, but will end up in the red. “The health insurance companies are riding on the rim,” emphasized Storm. Actually, governments always tried to keep contributions stable in an election year. But this time it will result in “hefty increases” in social security contributions.
The umbrella association of company health insurance companies (BKK) now also agrees with these calculations, which in the
Handelsblatt
assumes an increase in the additional contribution to 2.45 percent plus X. The
Bild
newspaper has calculated how much less money employees would have in their pockets each month if contributions actually increased to this extent. The health insurance companies can decide for themselves how much they want to increase the additional contribution:
Gross wages |
Current average cash contribution |
New average cash contribution |
|---|---|---|
1500 Euro |
122.25 euros |
127.88 euros |
2000 Euro |
163 euros |
238.50 euros |
2500 euros |
203.75 euros |
213.13 euros |
3000 euros |
244.50 euros |
255.75 euros |
3500 euros |
285.25 euros |
298.38 euros |
4000 euros |
326 euros |
341 euros |
4500 euros |
366.75 euros |
383.63 euros |
5000 Euro |
407.50 euros |
426.25 euros |
Lauterbach's reform is paid for by insured people
The reason for the increases are the health minister's reforms, half of the costs of which are borne by the health insurance companies and thus the insured persons.
The hospital reform aims to adjust the remuneration at clinics and thus prevent clinics from dying. In addition, a so-called “transformation fund” is to be set up from which clinics can receive funds if they need to make investments but do not have enough money to do so. The money can be applied for, for example, to expand telemedicine offerings or to set up new centers for the treatment of “rare, complex or serious diseases,” as the draft states. This transformation fund is to be filled with 50 billion euros by 2035. Half of this is borne by the states, the other half is to be provided from the funds of the statutory health insurance companies.
And that's exactly where the catch is: In order to raise the 25 billion euros for the fund (2.5 billion euros every year until 2035), the health insurance companies will almost certainly increase the health insurance contributions. “This would mean that the insured would once again fall victim to an unconstitutional misappropriation of contribution funds to finance original state tasks. The social security funds are intended to finance operating costs and not to compensate for the deficits of infrastructure reforms. The courts must stop this at the latest,” warned Franz Knieps, CEO of the umbrella organization of company health insurance companies (BKK), in a statement a few weeks ago. “Once the reputation is ruined, things are handled completely unabashedly,” Knieps continued on the minister’s instructions.
“Redistribution from bottom to top”: civil servants and privately insured people do not pay
“This is a classic redistribution from bottom to top. Not involving the privately insured and the civil servants at all is completely unacceptable,” said Andreas Storm to the
Augsburger Allgemeine
in March
.
He therefore expects that the plan will not hold up in court. “We consider the federal government’s planned approach to be constitutionally untenable, namely to pass on the majority of the financing to the health insurance companies, because the statutory health insurance is only responsible for providing the ongoing costs.”
According to the government's wishes, the hospital reform should be passed this year.
With material from dpa