With a five-step plan, the SPD is increasingly committed to the introduction of a civil insurance. The paper “The Road to Citizens’ Insurance” does not provide for the immediate abolition of private health insurance. In the long term, however, that could happen. Accordingly, the PKV Association sees the project and draws attention to its disadvantages.
On the private health insurance (PKV) come stormy times this year. Especially in the election year, many providers have increased their contributions, which reinforces the demand of many critics for changes in the health system. According to the star, the cost of private health insurance has never been so strong on average . Never before have so many people been affected by the current PKV premium adjustments with around two-thirds of private insured persons. The rising costs nourish the call for a citizens insurance – a uniform health insurance, in which every citizen pays.
Private health insurance: End on installments?
In addition to the Left and the Greens, the SPD is constantly pushing the Bürgerversicherung project forward. For a long time, the introduction of citizens’ insurance for the Social Democrats meant the abolition of private health insurance. However, last week it became known that the SPD is now seeking to approximate private and legal protection . To this end, the position paper “The Road to Citizens’ Insurance – Strengthening Solidarity and Implementing Parity” lists five steps on how uniform health insurance should be implemented.
One measure provides for an increase in the income threshold of the statutory health insurance to the level of the statutory pension insurance. This should “go hand in hand with an adequate adjustment of the mandatory insurance limit”, the position paper says. This would have to insure many employed private insured by law. In addition, access to private health insurance for employees would be more difficult due to a higher income threshold. However, if fewer and fewer young people, especially young people, take out private health insurance as a result of the changed requirements , the private health insurance companies will pay off in the long term . Instead of an immediate abolition of the PKV threatens such an end on installments.
PKV Association warns against cuts by civil insurance
The five-step plan of the SPD sees next to one
- new contribution assessment limit and mandatory insurance limit
- a freedom of choice for officials by granting legal protection,
- the inclusion of additional income types in the health insurance contribution,
- the approximation of the remuneration of doctors and
- a joint financing of the health insurance contribution.
The private health insurance association sees in particular the new contribution assessment limit critical. Through this “the employer’s contribution to the health insurance contributions would explode by 46.3 percent,” explains Stefan Reker, spokesman for the private health insurance association, Versicherungswirtschaft-heute. In addition, threatened by a civil insurance under SPD plans deterioration of medical care. According to his calculations, every doctor’s office would be missing an average of 49,000 euros a year without private health insurance. “This money is urgently needed for investments in personnel and new technology ,” says Reker. Accordingly, the PKV association spokesman can warn only before the introduction of civil insurance.
How stormy 2017 for the private health insurance actually becomes can probably only be said after the federal election in September. If it comes to a red-red-green government, it could, however, be close for the PKV.