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Blood pressure measurement: Inflation also increases expenses in medical practices
Photo: Bernd Weissbrod/ dpa
The financial gap of the statutory health insurance (GKV) could be significantly larger than previously assumed.
As the "Bild" newspaper reports, citing calculations by the Institute for Health Economics (IfG), the GKV will be short of up to 25 billion euros in the coming year.
In the previous estimates of around 17 billion euros "the war in Ukraine and the consequences were not yet priced in," said IfG boss Günther Neubauer of the newspaper.
"Inflation is increasing expenses in practices and clinics, while the prospects for the job market in autumn are rather poor."
If the financing deficits were compensated for by increasing contributions alone, this would result in contribution increases of up to EUR 537.02 net per year for top earners and EUR 455.16 for average earners.
According to "Bild", the chairman of the board of DAK Gesundheit, Andreas Storm, warned of a "contribution tsunami" in view of the numbers and called on Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to quickly present a law to stabilize the finances of the GKV.
"Together with the Federal Finance Minister, Lauterbach now has to answer the question of whether and how he wants to prevent the impending tsunami of premiums from the 70 million insured," said Storm.
If the draft law is not presented before the summer break, there will no longer be enough time before the health insurance funds draw up their budgets in the fall.
In view of the expected deficit in the billions, Health Minister Lauterbach had already prepared the members of the statutory health insurance funds for the fact that contributions could increase in 2023.
In March he said that with an expected cash deficit of around 17 billion euros next year, this cannot be completely avoided.
mmq/Reuters/dpa